


Picture Perfect | Larry Stylinson

by xdistorted_cliffordx



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 1d, Actor Louis, Bottom!Harry, Gay, Harry Styles - Freeform, Harry and Kendall Friendship, Justin Bieber - Freeform, Justin and Louis Friendship, LGBT, Liam Payne - Freeform, Louis Tomlinson - Freeform, M/M, Model Harry, Model!Harry, Niall Horan - Freeform, Niam - Freeform, Niam Horayne, Smut, Top!Liam, bottom!Niall, harry's a bottom, larry stylinson - Freeform, niall bottoms, one direction - Freeform, top!Louis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-06 07:19:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 74,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17341043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xdistorted_cliffordx/pseuds/xdistorted_cliffordx
Summary: Harry Styles.A 22 year old model and aspiring actor that does his best to stay on the down low and keep his private life just that. Nobody knows who he really is other than the person they see in the picture.Louis Tomlinson.A 24 year old former child star that is still holding his fame because of who his friends are and the pitiful roles he gets in TV. Everyone knows who he is because he's an obnoxious celebrity that will flaunt his fame wherever he goes.Same type of world, two very different people.-Copyright 2016 to Brianna (1D_HarryStyles_1D)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> \- Bottom!Harry, Top!Louis
> 
> \- This will be fairly shorter than my other stories.
> 
> \- Louis will be an asshole, but that's part of the story! 
> 
> \- Hendall WILL be in the story, but they are ONLY friends. 
> 
> \- Zigi is also in the story, but only for like a second, so don't get too worried about that.
> 
> \- There is also a side of Niam. :)

"Act as if you're taking the shirt off," the photographer instructed Harry.

Harry did as told, keeping the same scowl expression on his face as the picture was snapped. The photographer gave him the thumbs up, meaning that he had a short five minute break to get changed into the next outfit for the shoot. Harry looked down at himself briefly, feeling as though he looked too suggestive.

The nearly naked photo shoots were something that he tried to steer clear from. They made him feel insecure about his body. Often times, he felt like he didn't have enough muscles or prominent enough abs to be taking those types of photos. On the rare occasion, he felt that he was too overweight compared to the other models. He knew that he wasn't fat or anything like that, but he wasn't like the twig size models that are often posing in certain magazines.

His old manager, Jamie, always tried to force him to change his looks. He tried to change Harry's way of life by telling him that he needed to run twice every morning, not to eat anything other than small helpings of lettuce, and on top of the barely eating, he wouldn't let Harry eat a day and a half before a shoot or a show. Of course, being young and wanting to get his status built up right away, Harry had tried to follow Jamie's antics because he was his manager. He knew what he was doing and Harry had been new to the business.

Jamie also was big into booking the sexual photo shoots. He believed that sex appeal would do Harry's modeling career wonders. Of course, Jamie was right in his thinking - but the only photo shoots that were majorly attracted to a "twink" posing basically nude were the pornographic magazines - especially the gay ones.

Harry didn't have a problem with posing for gay magazines because he had identified as homosexual. The only thing that he had a problem with was that the type of gay magazines that were courting him in the beginning of his career were normally gay porn magazines. He refused to pose completely naked. He didn't want to have the knowledge that some old pervert was wanking to his picture. Not only that, but he would feel uncomfortable just walking in the streets. He didn't want to get smirks or anything of the sort from people that read the magazines. It just gave him a gross feeling. 

After about four months of the neglect and the pushing for porn photo shoots, Harry finally decided to fire Jamie. As much as he did help get Harry's career a good start, he couldn't keep starving himself or feeling uncomfortable doing something that he had originally loved. It was the best and one of the few biggest decisions that Harry had ever made for himself and he had only been eighteen years old at the time. 

"How you feeling, Haz?" his current manager, Ellie, asked him, putting her arm around Harry's bare back.

"I'm alright," Harry answered after he had taken a sip of his tea from Starbucks. "These photos aren't too suggestive, are they?"

"No, not at all. You look great, Harry," Ellie told him with a wide smile, but ended up giving Harry a playful nudge on the shoulder when he gave her an unconvinced expression. "I promise you! If you don't believe me, I'm sure Ralphy would gladly show you. That is, after you change into your next outfit!" 

"What is the next shoot about anyway?" Harry asked. 

"Um, I believe it something to do with the same scene, but it's more of a posh country boy kind of look. Honestly, the outfit is going to look gorgeous on you," Ellie gushed, turning around as she grabbed it off the hook along with the picture of how it should look on Harry. "It's like it was made for you."

Harry looked at it, his mouth falling open in pleasant surprise. It was a sleeveless red and white flannel crop top paired with light acid washed ripped capri type jeans with shiny black loafers that resembled tap shoes. There was a few accessories, like a long silver necklace and a few thin gold bangles to go on his arms. The outfit was absolutely adorable and it was one of the few that Harry would actually want to leave the studio in.

"I'll be right back!" Harry said excitedly, rushing into the makeshift dressing room to quickly put on the outfit. 

As soon as he came out, Amber Lynn the hairdresser was standing behind his chair with her hairbrush in hand. Harry looked at himself in the mirror, smiling at how wonderful he looked. He couldn't wait for the final result. He made a mental note to set them as his social media pictures. 

He took a seat in the chair and Amber Lynn started combing threw his curly hair once again, making sure all of the snarls were still out. It was when she was halfway through his hair that Ralphy came running over with a distraught look on his face. 

"Oh, Harry, I am so sorry," he apologized as he panted for air. 

"What's wrong?" he wondered, not sure what it was that had went wrong.

"I completely forgot that I had booked Bella Hadid at one and it's five minutes to. It's the only time that she's available to do this shoot and I can't possibly cancel on her. Can we reschedule the rest of this shoot? Would that be alright?" Ralphy explained, being overly dramatic on every detail. 

"It's completely fine, Ralphy. It happens. You're a busy guy and made a mistake. Don't worry about it," Harry said with a comforting smile. "You may want to tell Ellie though. She was making a call to her nanny." 

"Oh, gracious, Harry. Thank you ever so much," Ralphy gushed, rushing over to tell Ellie the situation. 

Amber Lynn let Harry out of the chair and he went back into the dressing room to put on his normal clothes that he came in. He was hoping that there wouldn't be any paparazzi around, even though Bella Hadid was coming. He was rather well known the industry because he did a lot of shoots for different things and also because he was going to be joining the cast of an upcoming movie. Apparently, it was a jaw dropping topic for a model to go into filming. 

Once he was changed, Harry put his sunglasses on his head and found where Ralphy was by the camera, getting it prepared for his next appointment. When he saw Harry walking towards him, he got the largest smile on his face. 

"Harry, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Could you show me the very last shot we took? I'm anxious to see it," Harry asked. 

"Well of course!" Ralphy said, bending down to bring it up on the Mac laptop. 

When Harry looked at it, he got a big smile on his face. He wasn't at all disgusted by the picture like he had thought he would be. It was beautiful in his eyes. It was almost better than the ones he imagined with the flannel outfit. He would have to check with Ellie, but he wanted to put that one as his social media profile pictures. 

"This is absolutely beautiful," Harry gushed. "This isn't at all like I feared it would be."

"I'm glad that you like it! It's one of my favorites," Ralphy said with pride. "While I love photographing your gorgeous face, this just catches you naturally and that's what is so beautiful." 

Harry thanked Ralphy for taking the time to photograph him and bid him goodbye. His day was done much earlier than he had planned and he didn't know what to do. Teavana seemed to be calling his name, despite just having some. Tea was Harry's favorite drink and he could never get enough of it. Oh, and he  _was_ British after all. 

He waved at Ellie and left the building out of the back entrance to avoid Bella and her entourage. It's not that he had anything against her, he just wasn't in the mood to deal with more people than necessary. Once he was outside, he put his sunglasses on and started walking towards Oxford Circus, determined to get his extra fill of tea. 

People (particularly his family and close friends) always wondered why he chose to walk everywhere instead of getting a cab. It would keep him from getting bombarded with the paparazzi that would be out and hunting or any fans that he had, but Harry didn't want to. He knew that after the movie was filmed and released, he would have to, but he didn't want to now. He liked being able to go out in public and walk around town like any other London resident. It was a freedom and he was going to use it as long as he would be able to. It was also fun and made Harry smile if he were to be stopped by a fan. It wasn't like he did anything other than pose for a camera and he had fans by just doing that. It was a humbling feeling. 

When he got to Teavana, the barista that was normally there gave Harry a welcoming smile. He returned it and she began making his usual tea. 

"You're early today," Zoey said as she got the tea ready.

"The photographer I was working with accidentally booked Bella Hadid over my time frame," Harry told her. 

"How do accidentally book Bella Hadid? It's not like she's famous or anything," Zoey laughed. 

"I'm not exactly sure," Harry laughed. 

After a few more minutes and some chatter, Zoey passed Harry his tea. He was about to leave when his phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He stopped, pulling it out and saw that it was his best friend. 

"Hey, K," Harry greeted.

_"Woah. I didn't expect you to answer in all honesty. Aren't you working?"_ Kendall asked. 

"Got let out early. Are you in London?" he wondered, figuring that he might as well fill his time with his best friend.

_"Well, yeah. There isn't a time I wouldn't be,"_ Kendall laughed.  _"Why? What's up?"_

"Want to come over to mine? I don't have anything to do for the rest of the day. I can pick you up a tea and a bagel if you want," Harry offered.

_"Yeah, that sounds like a plan. See you in a few."_

Harry turned around and went back to the counter, earning a confused look from Zoey. He gave her the new order and patiently waited for it to be made. He was excited that he got to see Kendall again. It had been two weeks since he had last hung out with her and he was beginning to miss her. She had gone back to America to visit her family - it was more of a forced visit because the producers of Keeping Up With The Kardashians were filming and they hadn't gotten a lot of Kendall in the upcoming season. 

Harry didn't like that they made her interrupt her life in London just to film a reality show. She didn't like to do it, but it wasn't like she could up and quit. It would be like quitting the family and she would never be able to go home to see them because the cameras were always around. 

His studio apartment wasn't that far from where Teavana was, so it gave him time to clean up the basically clean area before Kendall arrived. Harry had to admit that he was a neat freak. He was always cleaning in his free time. His floor was so clean that he could eat dinner off it. Not that he would try it. That was unsanitary, no matter how clean it was. 

There was a knock on his door and he quickly threw away the disposable rag before rushing to the door to let Kendall in. He opened the door and Kendall was standing on the other side, looking almost unrecognizable without her red lipstick and usual makeup on. 

"I missed you, Har!" she said, wrapping her arms around Harry in a hug. 

"I missed you too, Ken," he chuckled. 

The two walked into the apartment, Kendall taking a seat at the breakfast bar while Harry gave her the take away cup of tea and grabbed out the poppy seed bagels, setting them on two plates. 

"Strawberry cream cheese?" Harry asked, walking over to the fridge.

"Harold, you know that I don't like cream cheese," Kendall said with a matter-of-factly smile.

Harry chuckled as he grabbed the jar of Nutella next to the refrigerator and a knife from the drawer. He slid it across the counter and the two ate their bagels in silence for a few seconds. It wasn't a rare occurrence for them to be quiet around each other. They were both the type of people that didn't normally say too much. It wasn't an awkward silence, it was more of an "I'm-comfortable-with-you" silence. 

"So, how did the shoot go?" Kendall asked, picking at her bagel. 

"It went great. It was a more risque shoot. love the results of it," Harry smiled.

"Can I see?" she asked, eager for Harry to show. 

"You're going to have to wait like everyone else," Harry said with a proud smile. 

"You're no fair," Kendall pouted, flicking Harry's bicep. 

"Says the one who won't let me see any of her shoots until they're released!" the boy defended. 

"That is not my fault, mister," she said with a joking demeanor, even if it was fact. 

Harry looked down at his watch, seeing that he had more than half the day left. "I don't know what I'm going to do with myself for the rest of the day. I have all this time and nothing to fill it with."

"How late was the shoot supposed to go to?" Kendall asked. 

"It was supposed to go until four, but then I was going to go to Ellie's and we were going to try to put applications in for some fashion magazines. But now that that isn't going to happen, I have nothing on the schedule," Harry told her. 

"Well, a few friends and I are going to be going to the Selena Gomez concert tonight if you wanted to tag along," Kendall offered. "I could get Bella to easily give up her ticket. She doesn't really like me anyway."

"Who else is going?" Harry asked. 

"Zigi, me, and you," she told him.

Harry let out a mental groan. It wasn't that he didn't like Zayn or Gigi; they were both good people. At least, in Harry's mind. Zayn didn't really like Harry for some unknown reason. It wasn't like Harry did anything to offend him. If anything, he was a big fan of his music. Zayn just didn't like to be around Harry. There was nothing he could do about it, but it just confused him. Gigi took after Zayn in that aspect. Before the two had gotten together, Gigi treated him as a good friend, but when Zigi became a thing, it was like Harry was irrelevant. She still treated him with respect, they just weren't as close as they used to be. 

"Why is Zayn even going? Selena is his ex," Harry prompted. He wasn't one to complain about things, but he didn't really want Zayn's attitude to kill his vibes. 

"I honestly don't know. Gigi invited him and he's just pleasing her, I think," Kendall shrugged.

"Gigi invited him, even though she knew that Sel was his ex girlfriend?" Harry repeated, trying to make sense of it.

"I don't ask questions," she said quickly. 

Harry chuckled and then sighed. He wasn't in the mood for a concert, but he didn't have anything better to do with himself. "I suppose I can go. What time are you heading there?" 

"We can be here by six-thirty? If that's not a problem," Kendall suggested. 

Harry slowly nodded, agreeing to the time. Guess his night was planned.

~

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?!" Louis snapped, throwing down the magazine. 

"It means that you were caught being an immature dumbass," Kyle, Louis' agent, barked harshly. "You are helping make people think that the stereotype is real."

"What fucking stereotype?" Louis asked. 

"That all child stars go fucking nuts," Kyle snapped. "I can't say that I don't believe it because what I've seen from you, it's fucking true."

"Really? I'm the only one that's proving it? Have you not seen Miley Cyrus in the past six years? How about 2007 Britney? What about Justin? The guy's my best mate and all, but he's done some stupid shit in his day," Louis tried to defend. "I am  _not_ the only one to make a fucking mistake. Go ask people in their twenties; I can guarantee you that they've done equally as dumb shit."

"Oh, really, Louis? So, what you're trying to say is that ninety-five percent of twenty-somethings have punched paparazzi, got caught being high and streaking through a neighborhood, and last but certainly not least, have flashed their genitals at paparazzi while claiming that you smoked so much hard weed? Do you realize how stupid you're sounding right now?" Kyle repeated, only adding fuel to Louis' fire. "You're idiocy is why you don't get bookings."

"I don't need you giving me shit, Kyle. You're not supposed to tell me how to live my life. You're only here to get me roles in shit, which you've sucked asshole at doing," Louis hissed, standing up from his chair. "I don't need you to pretend to be my father. If I wanted my father, I would've looked him up a long fucking time ago."

Louis stormed out of Kyle's office, ignoring the man's snide comments about the magazine. People he passed were giving him scared looks - probably because he resembled an angry bull. At least, that's what he felt like. 

After Louis got out of the building, he quickly climbed into his black Porsche sports car, squealing away from the curb. Driving angry wasn't the most ideal thing to do, but he was pissed and he wanted to get away from all the bullshit. Much to his dismay, there was dead-stop traffic on the interstate, making more steam billow out from his ears. 

After huffing, Louis decided to scroll through Twitter for a minute. It was a terrible idea because he was trending - and certainly not in the good way. He was getting a lot of shit for what he did and all of these "fans" pretending to mother-lecture him. Much like Kyle had done. Fed up with the shit, Louis decided to be the big man and post something to steer away the shit comments. He was going to make the paparazzi look like the bad guys. 

**INSTAGRAM**

       

**louist91: biggest load of bullshit i've ever seen. the media/AGENTS make us say shit to make us look bad & get pr. i didn't want to do it. i was forced. sorry to those i've offended :( xx**

Louis read over the post three times before hitting the share button. He knew that Kyle was going to call him as soon as he saw the post, but Louis felt that's what he deserved. Kyle was a shitty agent in all honesty. If this was what it took to get rid of the fucker for good, Louis was all for it. He didn't like L.A all that much anyway.

Once the traffic was finally moving, Louis gave a sigh of relief. He just wanted to go back to his home and be away from the shit and piss of the world and the media. 

He had been a celebrity since he was eleven years old, being the main character on a show called School's In Session. It was a rather famous show that went on for five years before the producers tried to do a spin off called College's In Session, which ended up being a flop after one season. After the show finished, he got one big movie gig that was about a teenager having a secret job as a porn star. It had big box office success, but being he had been only seventeen years old, it ruined his career because, according to the media, he was a bad influence to young people and promoting sexting and everything along those lines, just because he had been completely nude in the movie. That was the downward spiral of his relationship with the media. 

As much as he loved acting, he never wanted anything more than to be able to live like a normal citizen. He loved his job (when Kyle would actually book him for something), but he didn't like the hell that came along with it. He wanted to be able to be an actor, but still be able to walk down the street without getting scrutinized and swarmed by paparazzi.

Since he hadn't gotten any big roles since that movie, people would always claim that he was only using his famous friends to keep his name in the spotlight, which was complete and utter shit. Just because Louis was friends with Justin Bieber and people of the likes didn't mean that he was just taking advantage of the extreme fame surrounding them. His friends meant everything and then some to him. 

When he finally got to his house, he made sure the gate was locked tight so nobody could get in if they wanted. He usually kept the gate closed, but never necessarily locked it unless he was gone for a long period of time or it was night. If anyone had wanted in, all they had to do was hit the intercom and Louis would let them in. Now that it was locked, they needed the code in order to open it. It didn't seem like much, but locking everything up when he normally didn't made him feel empowered.

His maid - a sweet sixty year old woman named Grace - was in the kitchen, most likely making Louis a fresh pan of apple crisp. She would do that once a week as thanks to Louis for hiring her and also to look after him because his mother didn't believe that he ate that much, so it was both of their ways of looking after him. Usually, it made Louis happy to smell the warm and comforting scent, but it was a bad day and nothing would be able to make him happy. Well, other than angry sex, but he didn't have anyone to do that with and he wasn't in the mood to court some whore off the street. 

With a snap of his wrist, Louis threw the keys into the clay bowl underneath the rarely used coat rack. Within seconds, Grace was emerging from the kitchen, a warm smile on her face as she wiped her hands dry with a dishtowel. 

"Welcome home," she greeted. 

"Hey, G," he responded, not sounding as angry as he felt. 

"I scrubbed the floors in each of the bathrooms and also did the dishes. I'm making you some apple crisp right now," Grace told him. "How was your day? Did the meeting with Kyle go alright?" 

"Alright my ass. If anything, it sucked dick. I hate that guy more than anything in the world," Louis hissed, his anger stewing once again. 

"I don't understand why you don't fire him if you don't like him," Grace pointed out.

"Because I'm stuck in a fucking contract with his ass. I have to fork out a hell of a lot of money in order to break it and I'm not going to do that. Sure, I still get paid from reruns and shit, but it's not near as enough as I would be getting if that fucker were to land me a fucking job," Louis vented as he explained to her.

"Well, what happened today that made you hate him so much?" she asked.

"He tried to tell me that I was one of those child stars that goes bat shit crazy," Louis told her. "Just because I made a fucking mistake last night. It's like the end of the world if I do something wrong." 

"You did flash around your goods, Louis, but I do understand why you're angry. He has no right to belittle you just because of something stupid you did. In fact, if he was any type of agent, he would be trying to help you get out of this mess and keep a good reputation," she said.

"Fuck, my good reputation took a nose dive years ago," Louis snorted. 

Grace just frowned, not particularly enjoying the fact that her boss was upset and stressed over something that he should be getting help with. She didn't condone his actions, but she knew that he was just a young soul that had grown up, surrounded by cameras and that he was going to make stupid mistakes like such. There was no way that he could handle it on his own and that was one of things that Kyle was supposed to help him with, but always failed to do. 

"My suggestion to you would be to have a night in with Justin. He seems to be a better influence on you than your other friends," Grace suggested.

Louis rolled his eyes at the last comment, but knew that Grace just didn't like his other mates. "I suppose I could give him a call and see what he's up to."

Louis left the kitchen, heading towards his balcony so he could call his best friend. Justin was the kind of chill guy that he needed to be around. When Louis was outside, he took his phone from his pocket, his lock screen filled with three missed calls from Kyle. He wasn't about to answer them. He's had his fill of Kyle and he wasn't about to overindulge. 

Ignoring the rest of his notifications, Louis pulled up the dial pad, typing in Justin's number. While he would normally text him, Louis wasn't in the mood. He wasn't about to get frustrated with autocorrect's horse shit. 

_"Hey, Tommo,"_ Justin answered after about three rings. 

"Hey, Justin. Are you busy for the rest of the day?" Louis asked with a slight sigh.

_"Nah. I just got home actually. Want to come over?"_ he offered, saving Louis the trouble of asking.

"Took the words straight out of my mouth. I'll see you in a bit, mate," Louis responded, a small smile forming on his face. 

~

Louis plopped down on Justin's comfortable all white sofa. He always loved sitting in it because it was just the right amount of softness. There were a few magazines on the all glass coffee table that Louis nearly put his feet on. Since Justin had told him that he was going to take a shower, Louis decided that he had time to skim through one of the magazines. He never pinned Justin as one to be a reader, but as they say: learn something new everyday. 

Louis picked up the top magazine, seeing that it was a fashion magazine. It caused Louis to cringe. Why the fuck would Justin read a fashion magazine? He could understand if his mum were to be the main decorator of the house, but she was back with her parents in Ontario. Without anymore questioning, Louis opened the magazine, skimming through it. At least, that was until he nearly dropped it. It landed open on a page where there was a man, looking so poised and so...perfect, for lack of a better term. 

Louis looked looked at the picture, admiring how beautiful the man was. His hair was thick and the curls were in perfect placement. The man's eyes were captivating Louis in every sense of the word. It was like someone had drawn what the perfect person would look like. There was no way that someone that looked like that existed. 

Louis was bisexual, so there was no denying the fact he was attracted to him. He had had one or two relationships, but it was nothing serious. His one night stand list included quite a bit of good looking people. But he had never been so engulfed into someone's beauty such as the person in the picture. He felt as though a spell was cast on him so he couldn't look away. 

"Lou? Are you good?" 

Louis broke his trance, looking up at Justin, who was giving him a concerned expression. "Fine. I was just reading this magazine."

Justin quirked his eyebrow. "You're into fashion?"

"I should be asking you that," Louis retorted. 

"It's to make the place look sophisticated and classy. Like a woman lives with me even though one doesn't," he explained. "You want a beer or anything?" 

"Since when do I turn down alcohol?" Louis smirked. 

"That's true."

After Justin had left the room, Louis looked down at the picture again. He wanted to know if this fellow was real, if he actually looked as beautiful as he did in that photo or if it was some dingus playing around on Photoshop. He would ask Justin since he was friends with people in the modelling industry, but he would wait until he felt the time was right. If anything was to happen that night, it was to relax and forget about anything and everything while sipping on an ice cold Corona. 

~~~


	2. Chapter 2

Harry got off the train that brought him to his childhood friend's home. He hadn't seen Liam for a little over a month and figured that he should tell the boy that he was still alive. The two had spoken through text message, but that was the extent of it and a lot had happened in both of their lives. It was a good time to catch up with one another. 

When Harry walked into the waiting area of the depot, he saw Liam sitting beneath a billboard, not paying attention to his surroundings as he texted on his phone. Harry just rolled his eyes, having an idea of who Liam was talking to. 

"So, are you going to text the entire time I'm here or are you going to give me a little love and attention?" Harry joked as he approached the boy. 

"I almost didn't recognize you because your hair was up," Liam claimed. He stood up, giving Harry a hug. It lasted all of a minute before Harry pushed himself off of him and he looked down at Liam's bandaged right hand. Leave it to Liam.   

"What clumsy thing did you do this time?" Harry teased, gesturing towards Liam's hand. 

"Oh, you're going to love this," Liam chuckled. "I went to club with my sisters and I broke it while break dancing."

Harry let out a chuckle, not sure if he was hearing right. "You broke it how?"

"I was break dancing," he said sheepishly.

At the admittance, Harry started cackling. "Of all things, you broke your wrist dancing. That is classic."

"I'm glad you find humor in my pain," Liam said, obviously embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Li. I expected some grandiose story and then you come to me with that and I lost my cool. All that time alone on the train got to me," Harry apologized. 

"Don't worry about it. If it makes any difference, the doctor who operated on it also found it hilarious," Liam shrugged.

"Oh, my poor Liam. My poor manly man is being treated like the scum of the Earth," Harry wailed, dramatically throwing his arms around Liam in another hug, causing other people that were passing them to stare.

"Okay, okay, get," Liam huffed, not hugging the boy back, but instead trying to push him off. 

"You know I'm just giving you a hard time. I don't get to do that when Kendall isn't around," Harry smiled as the two began walking towards the exit. 

"Where was Kendall?" Liam asked. 

"She had to do filming for the next season. She just got back yesterday," he told him. 

"Ah, I forgot about that show. No offense to Ken, but why does she even agree to continue filming it? It's not like she enjoys it," Liam wondered. 

"It's because she knows that her mum would be devastated if she suddenly up and quit the show. As she said before, it'd be as though she was quitting the family," Harry explained to the best of his ability. "Other than her children, the show is Kris' baby and she's latched onto it more so now that Bruce is no more. The show is what makes her happy and Kendall doesn't want to ruin it."

Liam nodded in understanding, not saying a word. The two walked through the lot to get to Liam's vehicle. The brisk breeze was causing Harry to shiver and he was hoping that the car was getting closer. Harry looked around for the vehicle, but he didn't see the familiar old granny car, as Harry called it. He stopped in his footsteps, trying to ignore his chills. 

"Where's Granny?" Harry asked, referring to the vehicle by its name.

"Granny went to my mum, actually," Liam smirked. "I got a replacement."

Harry quirked his head and a curious smile worked its way onto his face as he continued to follow Liam. They got to the very edge of the lot and there was a charcoal grey Mercedes parked in the slot. Liam smiled proudly as he showed off his new vehicle. Harry nodded in approval. It wasn't a luxurious sports car like Liam had always dreamed of, but it was certainly better than the granny mobile. 

"It's not brand new, but sure acts like it," Liam continued gushing as he looked at the shiny exterior. "2010 Mercedes-Benz R Class. I absolutely love it."

"Quite a beaut, Li. I'm glad you finally got a car that suits you," Harry joked as he put his things in the back seat and hopped in.

The inside looked just as new as the outside and smelled like Liam had just doused it in his cologne. The boy began to back up, looking like a proud father. Harry found it amusing yet adorable how Liam took so much pride in his vehicle. He would be the same way. 

The two drove through Cheshire in a comfortable silence, Harry looking out the window at the scene of the city. He hadn't been in his hometown for what felt like ages. Looking out at it, he realized that he missed it more than he had his life in London. It was much slower paced here, less busy. Harry loved London - always has - but he didn't complain when he left. He didn't grow up in a big and bustling city, so he was accustomed to the small community that he had spent the majority of his life in. When he was there, it was like he could completely relax and take a nice deep breath without being commanded to pose or pushing past others on the street. 

"You look tired. Sleep last night?" Liam suddenly asked, breaking Harry away from his thoughts. 

"Kendall drug me to the Selena Gomez concert," Harry told him. 

"Drug you? I thought you loved Selena Gomez. You only retweet her every single day," Liam chuckled.

"Oh, I do love her and I was happy to go. The only downside to it was that I had to spend the night with Zayn. It was awkward to say the least. I couldn't fangirl over my queen," Harry explained.

Liam quirked his eyebrow with slight judgement at the last part, but finished it with a chuckle. "He still doesn't like you?" 

"I don't have any idea why. I've never done anything to him! I don't know if he sees me as a threat to Gigi. He shouldn't because I am one-hundred percent positive that I'm gay," Harry chuckled. 

"Why was he there anyway? Isn't Selena his ex-girlfriend?" he laughed. 

"That's what I asked," Harry shrugged. "Kendall said that he was just going to support Gigi since they're friends."

Liam shook his head and rolled his eyes. "I don't understand celebrities." 

"Neither do I," Harry agreed, despite some of his friends being famous. 

They arrived at Liam's flat, Harry happy that he would finally be somewhere cozy. His apartment in London was cozy, but it didn't have the comforts of home. His home was Cheshire and it always would be. 

Once Harry stepped into Liam's, he chuckled to himself. The place looked the exact same as it did when he had last been there. The only reason he found it funny was because Liam had talked of painting the living room, rearranging the furniture, and other miscellaneous things that had been put on the back burner. 

"You want anything to drink?" Liam offered as he went off towards the kitchen. 

"Tea would be fine, but I don't want you to go to the trouble just for me," Harry answered.

"I have a Keurig. No work is required on my part," Liam chuckled. "English breakfast or Earl Grey?" 

Harry blushed as he answered. "Earl Grey would be fantastic."

Liam went into the kitchen to make the beverages and Harry went to the guest room where he would be staying for the week. The room was much smaller than his one in London, but it was cozy in Harry's eyes. He put his bags on the chair that was in the corner of the room. He opened the closet and began hanging his clothes up, organizing them by occasion. The majority of his clothing were his infamous silky shirts that he wore on a daily basis, but he did bring a few fancier outfits in case he and Liam happened to go out on the town or something like that. Ever since Harry's modelling career started, he learned to always bring a dressy outfit because you never know what's going to come up. 

"Har, tea's ready!" 

Harry put the last shirt in the closet and went back out to the kitchen to get his tea from his best friend. Liam glanced up from stirring the beverages and Harry took a seat on one of the bar stools. 

"Hope you like french vanilla creamer because I've added it," Liam told him, pushing the cuppa over to him. "It's a force of habit with mine. I can make you a new cup if you'd like."

Harry took a sip and shook his head. "No, no, Li. Don't worry about it. It tastes glorious. I don't know how long it's been since I've had a real cup. I've been living on Starbucks far too long." 

Liam rolled his eyes. "You sound like such a white girl."

"You're right. I do enjoy boots, Starbucks, and selfies," Harry answered. "Anyhoo, enough about my likes. What have you been up to since the last I've seen you?" 

"Not much really. It's been pretty much the same old rout-" Liam started, but was cut off by his phone ringing with a FaceTime call. Liam looked down at the screen and his cheeks were brushed with a light pink when he looked back up at Harry.

"Who was that?" Harry smirked, trying to peek at the screen, as if there was still something showing. 

"Oh, no one of importance," Liam shrugged, avoiding eye contact. 

"Liam, I'm not a naive little boy. Whoever just called you is certainly important. Who was it? Was it your mum?" Harry asked, sipping his tea. 

"Yep, yep. It was my mum. Not sure why she's calling me. Just saw her last night, y'know?" Liam stammered out.

"You get that flustered over your mum?" Harry questioned with a playful smirk. "C'mon, Liam. You were never good at lying. Who is she?" 

Liam was quiet, scratching the back of his neck as everyone does in an awkward situation such as that. Harry knew that Liam didn't date much, but when he did, he acted like a little schoolgirl. It was adorable really. Harry couldn't help at smile at how embarrassed he was. 

" _His_ name is Niall..." Liam muttered, not looking up from is hands. 

Harry furrowed his brow, not sure if he heard him right. "I'm sorry, did you say his?" 

Liam looked around, flustered and nodded quickly, as if he was afraid of judgment. A small smile formed on Harry's face. 

"Liam, can you quit admiring your floorboards for a moment and look at me?" Harry asked, getting his signature "mum" look on. Liam's brown eyes drifted over to him after a few seconds and the boy's lips pursed as he tried to suppress his smile. "You don't have to be ashamed or fearing judgment about having feelings for a boy. Especially from me. I'm as gay as they get and you know that. I'm perfectly fine with the fact that you like a boy. You know that I would be. It's actually cute how blushy you get when you talk about him."

"I was just...I was scared of what you might think. I didn't want you to think differently of me," Liam explained quietly. 

Harry reached across the counter and grabbed one of Liam's hands in his own. "I wouldn't - I  _don't_ \- think any different of you. You're still my best friend. You're the same guy that I've known for years of my life. The only thing that's different is you discovering your sexuality, but that's not what defines you or makes you who you are. I promise you that you're still the same in my mind and it will never change."

Liam smiled, appreciating Harry's kind words. "Thanks, H. It means a lot to hear that."

"Of course, Li," Harry smiled. "Now, tell me about this boy. Just like any other significant others you've had, I'm going to need to meet him in order to evaluate whether or not he's good for my Liam."

Liam chuckled. "Well, he's Irish and he's a musician. He's really cute and really funny. Um, I don't know what to say about him."

"How long have you been talking to him?" the model asked, curious about his friend's love life since his own was lacking.

"For a few weeks actually."

"Liam, you sly dog! Have you been out with him at all?" Harry asked, growing more and more excited about it. 

"Um, well, no. We've only talked over video chat and stuff," Liam shrugged. 

"Are you too nervous? Oh, Liam. You are definitely going to be going on a date while I'm here!" Harry exclaimed enthusiastically, but his excited smile fell when he saw that Liam wasn't as happy as he was. "Why aren't you jumping for joy?" 

"Because, um, well, I didn't exactly meet him yet," Liam mumbled, a look of shame forming on his face.

Harry tilted his head. "What do you mean?" 

"I, um, I met him on the internet," the boy spilled, earning the mum look from Harry. "Don't look at me that way. I know that internet dating is dangerous, but I know that he's real. I was just curious and I didn't expect to find anyone, but then he appeared and it escalated from there."

Harry wasn't sold on the whole online dating world, but he knew that Liam didn't think the same way. He wasn't one to judge, but he knew how hard that Liam could fall for people in a short amount of time and that's what scared Harry.

"Okay...do you at least know what he looks like? Well, what he says he looks like anyway. Has he sent you any pictures?" Harry wondered. 

"Yeah, he's sent one or two. He has a few pictures on the app that we met on," Liam responded, sounding hopeful. "Why? How are you going to know if they're fake or not?" 

"Along with Kendall's friendship comes her obsession with American TV, which includes a show by the name of  _Catfish_  and that has given me all of the tools to figure out whether or not this mysterious leprechaun is who he says he is," Harry explained to him. "If we have to, we will call Nev and Max."

Liam just quirked his eyebrow. "I have no idea what the hell you're talking about, but I'll just act like I do." 

"Do I have the pleasure of seeing a picture of this lad or do I have to wait in anticipation?" Harry chuckled, his head resting on his wrist in anticipation. 

Liam picked his phone back up and quickly tapped a few things before turning it around for Harry to see. Harry squinted his eyes as he looked at the bright screen, looking over the boy as if it would tell him the mystery boy's life story. 

"So, you have his Snapchat at least. That's a step in the right direction," Harry told Liam. "He lives in Ireland, I imagine?" 

Liam nodded his head. "Yeah, he lives like an hour or so out of Dublin."

Harry smirked as he got up from the bar stool and quickly went into the guest room to get his phone. Liam looked at him confused, but Harry knew what he was doing. He was mentally thanking and praising Ellie for booking him a shoot in Dublin within the next couple of weeks. When he came back out of the room with his device, he stopped in front of his best friend as he scrolled through his calendar until he found the date. 

"How would you like to take a trip to Dublin with me next week?" Harry asked, turning his phone for Liam to see. 

"What? You're messing with me," Liam quickly responded with big doe eyes.

"You know what a terrible liar I am. I have to tell Ellie to book another ticket, so are you coming or not?" Harry prompted.

Liam's eyes widened with excitement when he realized that Harry was being serious. "Are you sure? I don't want to impose."

The brunette just rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "Oh, please, Liam. They don't care who comes with as long as I'm there. Ellie loves meeting my friends. We can make a trip of it."

Liam looked at him, pondering the thought. "I mean, if you're sure it's okay."

"Sure, I'm sure! You're my best mate and you know that I would do anything for you," Harry smiled. "Get excited!" 

"I'm beyond excited, Har. I just can't believe that you're actually doing this for me! Niall is going to be so excited," Liam claimed. 

"Go ahead, FaceTime him. I have to tell Ellie to book an extra ticket," he smiled, turning to walk back into the bedroom.

"Do you want me to pay?" he asked.

"Liam, no. The agency pays for it. Just let everything happen," Harry chuckled. 

As he went into the guest room, he heard Liam talking to Niall with an excited voice. It brought a smile to Harry's face to hear his best friend so happy. Knowing that Niall had given out his Snapchat made him feel better, but it was still sketchy to Harry. You could never be too sure because there was too many apps that allowed sick fucks to catfish innocent people like Liam. 

Harry dialed Ellie's number to tell her the news of the extra guest, knowing that she'll be more than okay with Liam tagging along for the trip. She had always wanted to meet Liam because Harry had told her so many wonderful things. It was a win-win for all four people involved.

_"You know I love talking to you, but I must ask why are you talking to me while you're on vacation?"_ Ellie answered.

"Oh, Ellie, I just missed you so much," Harry chuckled. "Actually, I wanted to ask you about the Dublin trip. Could we book another ticket?"

_"I certainly could. Well, that depends on who is accompanying you. Is it Kendall?"_ his agent asked, sounding somewhat flirty and hopeful. Ellie had a thing for Kendall, despite her always denying that she was either lesbian or bisexual. 

"No, it's not Kendall, unfortunately. Although, I could ask her if she wants to come and you could book two tickets," Harry suggested, not at all opposed to his other best friend joining them on the Ireland trip.

_"Oh, we'll save that for another time, I suppose. Don't want the agency thinking that we're taking advantage of their all-expenses-paid deal,"_ Ellie pointed out. She did have a point.  _"So, who's this mystery guest?"_

"Do you remember how I always told you about my old friend Liam?" Harry asked her. 

_"Oh, you're inviting Liam?! I will certainly grab a ticket! I can't wait to meet this fellow! Oh, there is just so much to do! Have a good vacation, Harold!"_ Ellie rambled with excitement, ending the call before Harry could respond with anything.

Harry just chuckled and took his phone from his ear, turning it off and placing on the nightstand next to his bed. His heart fluttered with warmth as he realized what he had just done for his longtime best friend. Not only was he treating him to a vacation, he was bringing him to meet someone that could be his soulmate. The thought brought a smile to Harry's face.

~

Louis threw his phone down onto his coffee table, frustrated with the lack of the results he was being presented with. Ever since he had found the picture of that beautiful model at Justin's, he hadn't been able to get the guy out of his head. So much so that he had spent the majority of his time searching Twitter and Instagram in order to try and find him, but didn't find a thing. He tried searching a name that he thought fit the guy, but he was wrong of course. 

He shoved his heads into his hands, running his hands through his mused hair in frustration. He was going through so much to find a model when he had more important things going on such as dealing with his asshole agent. Then the thought struck him - he could ask Kyle. As much as he didn't want to speak to the guy and as much as he hated him, he knew that he could ask Kyle and not receive any judgment. Well, he wouldn't receive any judgments that he cared about. 

Picking his phone up, Louis quickly called Kyle's work phone, leaving a quick message to let him know that he was coming in. He then ran up into his bedroom to get dressed and make himself look like he hadn't stayed up all night scrolling through social media platforms. 

Thankfully, there wasn't as many paps out and about when Louis made the trip to Kyle's office. He figured that one of the Kardashian-Jenners were out on the town and for once he was actually thankful that they were as famous as they were. The last thing that Louis wanted to deal with were those vultures. He was on his way to Kyle's to get answers, not a lecture for telling some lowlife photographer to fuck off. 

The receptionist gave Louis a flirtatious look when he walked through the double doors of the building. Every time that he was there, she was always trying to seduce him. She was trying so hard that Louis was turned off. He liked girls, but he was really picky with them. He had a lot more standards and the try-hards didn't reach them.

"Louis. Fancy seeing you here. Can't imagine that you came to have a cup of tea," Kyle sassed as Louis walked into his office.

"Believe me, I'm not here because I want to join hands and sing Kumbaya," Louis told him, collapsing in the chair across the desk from him. "I need you to tell me who a model is."

Kyle rolled his eyes. "If you think hiring a beard is going to repair your reputation, it isn't going to do shit. You need a mira-"

"No, I am not doing your beard bullshit. I want to know who someone is so I can get in contact with them for something," Louis said, not exactly lying. 

"Fine. Do you have a picture?" Kyle asked, causing Louis' stomach to fall. He tried to think back to what the magazine was called. He couldn't remember if it was Vogue or Elle, but he knew that it was a thick magazine. "I don't have all day, Louis."

"Can I call Justin quick? He has the magazine at his house," Louis asked. 

"Listen, I don't want to give you the information of someone that doesn't deserve to be tainted by you. If you care so much, why don't you just ask Justin or some other model? I'm not getting paid enough to do your stalking," Kyle scolded. 

Louis felt anger boil in the pit of is stomach. "And you're not getting paid for this little meeting either."

Before Kyle could threaten him, Louis stormed out of the office, preparing to go back to Justin's house to get a hold of the magazine so he could find out who the beautiful boy was. He was determined. Maybe having someone that was as pure as the model in his life would give him a boost in the industry. That's really all he wanted was to get back in the scene and get some bank back. Louis wanted to be known for something other than his childhood career because he was a hell of a lot more than just a shitty child actor. He was a much better actor now and had something more to offer. His agent was a piece of shit, so he was going to have to make himself known again on his own. He didn't know exactly what he was going to do, but he had a good idea on how to get his name out there. He just needed to get in touch with the handsome model and make everyone think that they were together. It was as simple as that.

~


	3. Chapter 3

Harry was never really a violent person, but now he wanted to slap Liam across the face because he was acting all antsy as they went through the Heathrow airport. It was an ungodly hour of the day and Harry hadn't gotten a chance to grab his caffeine because they didn't have much time between the train ride and the time that they had to meet Ellie to go to the airport. To say that he was somewhat grouchy was an understatement. Liam, on the other hand, acted like he had drank an entire vat of Starbucks' espresso. 

"How long does it take to get to Dublin from here about?" Liam asked Harry. 

"Um, I'm not sure. It's not really the right time to be asking me to do math," Harry half-joked. 

"The flight is about an hour and a little extra. We should get there just a bit before eight," Ellie chimed in, calculating everything on her phone. 

Ellie fell in love with Liam the moment that Harry introduced the two. It could've been because she didn't want to deal with Harry's uncaffeinated self and Liam was more pleasant to be around. They were waiting for their flight to be called and Ellie wouldn't allow Harry to make a quick trip to the only shop that served his tea because it was a bit of a walk from where the waiting area was. She didn't want to lose either of her passengers before they left London. 

"Is Niall meeting us at the airport?" Harry asked, trying to make up for being such a snappy bastard that morning. 

"Can he?" Liam asked.

"I don't see why not. We were just going to rent a car and go to the hotel right away anyway," Harry told him. 

Liam's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Do I have time to call him?!" 

"As long as it isn't an hour long conversation," Harry smiled as the boy dialed up his crush. Harry turned to Ellie to let her know the plans. "Liam is calling Niall to meet us at the Dublin airport."

"Oh, alright. I thought that's what the plan was honestly," Ellie admitted, looking up from her phone. It seemed that she is always doing some type of business. Harry had always wondered if she worked in her sleep. 

"To be fair, I did too. But don't tell him that. He's acting like a little kid in Willy Wonka's candy factory," Harry said with his sleep deprived voice. 

Their flight was called a few minutes later and Liam was still chattering away with his internet boy. It made Harry happy to see that his best friend found someone that made him happy after so many years of not being happy with someone that he was in a relationship with. However, he was happy that the phone had to be on airplane mode throughout the duration of the flight. As much as he loved Liam, he wanted to catch some sleep and not have to listen to Liam fantasize with Niall. 

Thankfully, their seats were in business class rather than economy. It made him sound like a spoiled brat saying that, but it was only because he didn't have to deal with the screaming children that were in economy and he could sleep with less knots in his back. Plus, they served some amazing caffeinated beverages. 

It didn't take long for them to find their seats as there wasn't as many people as there were in economy. The seats were also at the back so they wouldn't have to worry about getting kneed or someone watching some action movie that would disturb Harry's much needed slumber. 

"I call the window," Harry said, patting Liam's shoulder as he snuck past him and took the seat. Liam didn't say anything and just sat down in the middle between Harry and Ellie. 

"Do you know if they have any good movies on here?" Liam asked. 

"They have a few, but I never pinned you as the type to watch romances," Harry smirked. 

Liam chuckled and began to play on the TV screen that was built into the seat in front of him. Harry just looked out the window at the London sunrise and waited for the plane to begin moving. It was times like these where he would sit and think to himself, trapping himself with his thoughts and continue to be shocked on how he got to be where he was. He was friends with Kendall Jenner, he brushed shoulders with A-list celebrities, and he was a pretty well-known model. And he was just twenty-three. That was amazing to him. 

His family members always banter with him about being all different because he was rising in fame, but he didn't feel different. He felt like a normal twenty-three year old gay guy that just happened to appear in a lot of magazines and wore his favorite designers daily. Other than that, he did normal things and he didn't let the "fame" get to his head. That's what he was thankful for the most. 

\----

"Har, we're going to land in about five minutes."

Harry blinked open his eyes, being greeted with the bright early morning sunshine. He looked over to see Liam sitting as though he was about to burst with excitement and then Ellie was sipping on some type of alcoholic beverage while tapping away on her iPad. 

"Never to early for day drinking I see," Harry joked, his voice deep. 

"It's always alcohol o'clock," Ellie said, raising her glass without looking up from her screen. "I suggest that you get your coffee now or else you're going to have to convince Liam's little friend to drive to Starbucks."

"You won't have to do much convincing," Liam whispered. 

"Good because I don't think I could chug a hot beverage before we get off the plane," Harry chuckled.

The three of them were quiet and Harry looked out at the clouds that they were quickly flying through. He had to admit that he missed his home. He hadn't been there for over a week and he wasn't going to be there for another. It wasn't normal for him to be away for that long of a stint, but he knew that he would have to begin to get used to it if he were going to become a major supermodel like Kendall and Gigi. 

"Are you excited?" Harry asked his best friend, who began to beam.

"More than anything. I don't know how to repay you for doing this for me, Harry," Liam exclaimed.

"There's no need. You don't repay a gift, Liam," Harry smiled. "I can tell just how much this Niall character means to you and I hope that everything works out. I'm not a huge fan of this internet dating thing, but if that's how you found the love of your life, I'm not going to judge either of you for it."

Liam smiled and put his hand on Harry's knee. "Thanks, H. But I will repay you somehow. I'll help find your prince charming."

Harry just chuckled at Liam's sentence. "You don't have to go to the trouble, Liam. It's impossible to find someone that would be able to put up with me."

"Don't talk so down on yourself, Harry," Liam frowned. "You're amazing and any guy would be lucky to have you on their arm." 

Harry smiled, not even realizing his own self-depreciating comment. "Thanks, Li."

After about half an hour of getting off the airplane, the three of them were making their way through the airport to the waiting area where Niall was supposedly meeting them - well, Liam. The boy was walking quickly and both Harry and Ellie had to physically pull him back to keep him at their speed. Harry was experiencing secondhand excitement for Liam. It was the moment that the boy had been waiting for and it had finally come. Harry couldn't help but imagine the future and how he could be the one that helped Liam find the man that he was going to spend the rest of his life with. 

When they got to the waiting area, however, Liam stopped. Harry didn't quite remember what Niall looked like, but he knew that the guy wasn't there because Liam would've been mauling him in hugs by now. The look on Liam's face fell, making him look as though he was about to start crying. Harry felt Liam's heart break as he placed a hand on his shoulder. 

"I'm so sorry, Liam," Harry muttered, knowing that his words weren't going to have any effect on Liam. He was hoping that this was not a catfish situation.

Ellie was looking between Harry and Liam, not sure what to do. Harry shrugged, not having ever done this sort of thing before. He didn't know whether to wait five minutes or just to leave. The choice was ultimately up to Liam.

"Do you want to wait?" Harry asked, but didn't get an answer from him. "L-"

"Liam?! Is that you?!" 

The three of them turned around to find the owner of the Irish accent. Harry assumed that it was Niall because the guy looked like a happy little kid and Liam was already hugging him. 

Harry and Ellie watched as the two boys hugged as though they had known each other for ages. It was a really heartwarming sight. Harry couldn't help but be the slightest bit jealous of Liam's newfound love. 

"They're quite cute, aren't they?" Ellie asked, watching Liam and Niall formally meet.

"I'd say so. Probably the best business trip that I've been on," Harry agreed. 

"Boys, sad to say it, but we need to get the show on the road. After all, Princess Harry needs to get his beauty rest otherwise he'll be a royal bitch," Ellie joked, walking towards Liam and Niall. 

Harry followed suit, but walked to Niall and stuck his hand out. "Hello there. That would be Ellie. She's with me. I'm Harry and I assume that you're the famous Niall."

"Yes, yes, I am. I've heard a lot about you," Niall admitted. "All good, don't worry."

"That's good. I was going to have to kick Liam in the arse if it would've been otherwise," Harry smirked. "So, I assume that you're our chauffeur?"

"He can be Liam's ride, but I'm renting a Range Rover so he doesn't have to tote us back and forth," Ellie announced. 

"Well, alright then. Liam, do you want me to call before I go to the shoot? I wasn't sure if you wanted to go to one of those or not," Harry offered. 

"Are you sure you don't want me to go back to the hotel with you?" Liam wondered. 

"And not let you spend time with someone that you haven't shut up about for the past week? I can't take it anymore! Go and have a good time for the day. We don't have to be at the studio until 2:30. You can join us if you'd like as well, Niall," Harry smiled. 

The foursome walked out of the waiting area, Harry and Ellie talking about the day's events and Niall and Liam flirting back and forth. As happy as Harry was for Liam, a small bit of him was nervous to let the guy be alone with a stranger in the city of Dublin. But he had to remind himself that Liam wasn't stupid and he knew how to read people. If he was in trouble, he would've known it by now. Plus he could defend himself against Niall. The boy was small and didn't look like he would be able to hurt a fly. That also gave Harry a warm fuzzy. 

They got to the Enterprise lot and Harry turned to Liam, giving him a quick hug before sending him off with his love interest. "Have a good time and don't do anything that I wouldn't do."

"Then I wouldn't be doing anything at all!" Liam joked. 

Harry flipped him the bird and followed Ellie to the Range Rover that they had rented. He was looking forward to the week he was about to spend in Dublin. It was certainly going to be a fun time.

\----

"Wait, Dublin? Why the hell do you want to go to Dublin?" Justin asked, both barely awake and very confused at the early morning hour. 

"Why does it matter?! I got to the tickets, so let's go!" Louis urged. 

"Dude, it's like three in the fucking morning and you're asking me to travel with you to Ireland. I don't even know what my name is right now let alone be able to pack a damn bag," he argued. 

"You can sleep on the plane. I'll explain everything when we get there," Louis told him. 

"I would rather have one now so I can stay home if I wanted to and not have to spend more money getting another ticket. Do you know how expensive plane tickets are for first class?" Justin asked. "Well, maybe you do, but you're not thinking twice about it."

"Come on, Justin. We won't be there that long. I'm not even sure how long he's going to be there," Louis said.

"Wait. How long  _who_ is going to be there? Louis, can you please tell me what the fuck this is about? I know it isn't something that Kyle set up because it wouldn't be as much of a trainwreck as this is," Justin begged, growing angrier and angrier by the minute. 

Louis took a deep breath, deciding that he would give his best friend the shortest and simplest explanation that he could muster up. "Harry Styles. I need to meet him and form some sort of relationship with him so I can get my reputation back and good standing in order to get more job offers."

"Harry Styles may be gay, but I can tell you right now that he wouldn't hang around with the likes of you," Justin chuckled. 

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Louis commanded. 

"You're a pot-smoking alcoholic hothead. He's not really into that as far as I know. Was this a consensual beardship? I'd honestly be surprised," Justin asked. 

"No. Kyle didn't set this up. I came up with it myself and I don't want to be exactly a beardship. I want to actually look like a real couple," Louis told him.

Justin facepalmed and shook his head. "This is certainly not going to turn out the way that you want it to, but hell, you won't give up either. So, what the fuck, I'll go with you. Just give me five minutes to pack my things."

Louis almost jumped with excitement. So far, his plan of attack was going off really well. It didn't take him that long to find out who Harry Styles was along with his location and he also got Justin to go along with it. All he had left to do was get his foot in the door with Harry and he would be golden. His career would be back on track before he knew it. 

"Are you ready?" Justin asked, locking up his house. 

"I've been ready since I started researching him," Louis answered, walking towards the car. 

"I'm not going to even ask when you started that," Justin said, shaking his head.

\----

Louis was awoken by the stewardess when they were five minutes from landing. He smiled, looking out the dark window. Louis hadn't been to Ireland for years. The last time that he was there was for one episode of his show when he was just a kid, so about fifteen years. He was happy that he could actually experience the full effect of Ireland with all of the pubs and such. Well, as much as he could as long as Justin was with him. 

He nudged his friend, wanting to make sure that he was awake and had time to get out of his asshole attitude. Justin's eyes just slowly blinked, but he didn't wake up. That was when Louis assumed it was an appropriate time to body slam into him. 

"What the fuck, Louis?!" Justin snapped. 

"We have five minutes until we land," Louis relayed with a cocky smile on his face. 

"God, I can't believe that you're actually following through with this," Justin muttered to himself. "It's the first time you've ever really followed through with anything. Holy shit."

Louis didn't say anything and instead frowned. He knew that he didn't have the best reputation when it came to following through and actually doing certain things, but when he was really adamant or passionate about something, he would try his damnedest to see through and actually do it. It just kind of hurt him that the person that he thought was his best friend didn't see that or even believed in him. When Justin said that he was going to change before he did his comeback, Louis knew that he wasn't just saying it and stood behind him. So the fact that Justin didn't reciprocate what Louis did for him, it left a bit of a scar. 

"What time even is it?" Justin asked, pretending that he hadn't even said what he did. 

Louis pulled out his phone, figuring that he might as well just act like it never happened because he didn't want to get in a fight. "It's eleven." 

"Jesus Christ. This jet lag is going to kill me," Justin said. "Please tell me that we're not going to go Harry hunting tonight."

Louis raised his eyebrow at him. "I know I'm insane and impulsive, but I'm not about to go late night searching. Besides, the kid is probably in bed by now anyway if he's such a big prude like you say."

"Oh, I didn't say he was a prude, Tommo. I said he wouldn't want to hang around someone that sat and rolled blunts everyday," Justin chuckled. "For all I know, he could be experiencing the Dublin nightlife right now. I mean, he is friends with Kendall Jenner."

"Are you saying that Kendall is a big drunk? I thought you guys were friends," Louis asked. 

"No, she's not a drunk. But she does like clubbing. And we're not friends; we're acquaintances," Justin explained. 

Louis decided not to press the issue any further. He didn't know what the hell happened between Justin and the Kardashian-Jenners, but he could tell that it was still somewhat of an open wound. Instead, Louis began to work out a plan in his head about finding where his mystery model might be at and how he could "casually" run into him. That was definitely going to be a bit difficult since Louis was completely unaware of what the boy liked to do in his spare time. However, he had a few ideas up his sleeve. 

The two boys got off the plane and were on their way to a hotel that was in the heart of the city. They figured that it would be easier to stay downtown since neither of them really knew the area well. Louis felt himself grow sleepy, but he knew that it wouldn't last very long considering that it was eight in the morning back in California. He wasn't ready for the jet lag that was going to be hitting him. 

"What are we going to do all night? We're jet lagged and I'm pretty sure nothing but pubs and clubs are open," Justin asked as they drove from the airport. "Not to mention that I'm not a huge fan of driving over here. It's all back asswards."

"You know, you are sure bitchy in the morning," Louis chuckled, although, he wasn't lying. 

"You're such a kind friend, Tommo. Google something to do. I'm not really feeling alcohol right now," he commanded. 

Louis did as told but then looked up. "Don't you think that it would be a smarter idea to just go to the hotel? If they're any kind of place, they'll have an Xbox or something for me to use to kick your arse in Black Ops."

"I think you mean it the other way around. That does sound tempting," Justin contemplated. "Let's do it."

Dublin was pretty happening for it being past midnight. However, it was only the pub crowds that were making it seem that way. Justin parked outside of the hotel that had quite a crowd walking in and out of. It wasn't like Justin's type of crowd where they knew were he was, but it was a heavy stream of people. 

The two of them walked into the place and noticed that it was pretty swanky. Louis was apart of the type of crowd that was wandering around there, but he still felt out of place in his sweatshirt and sweatpants. They went to the front desk and Louis checked them into a room for the rest of the week. The hotel was expensive, but it was nothing as far as Louis was concerned. He just used the agency credit card that Kyle gave him way back in the day. It was technically a business visit. 

"Do you want to hit the bar quick?" Justin suggested.

"Sounds appealing."

\----

Two hours and a few shots later, Justin declared that he was going to take a shower and Louis told him that he would go down and check for the gaming system that they wanted to rent along with a few extra towels since Justin would most likely use all of them. The hallways were quieter than the lobby downstairs, which was nice. Louis didn't want to push through people at this hour of the day. Or night. Same thing. 

However, Louis was pleasantly surprised when he got off the elevator. Standing at the front desk was a rather attractive man with his hair pulled back off his face. From a distance, he looked to be about Louis' age. He was taller than Louis, but not by much. Figuring that it wouldn't hurt to flirt around, Louis quickly made his way to the desk. The man sounded frustrated as he spoke to the clerk, but it just could've been because he had a low voice. 

"Rough night?" Louis piped up. 

The guy turned around and Louis found himself almost drooling at the man's beauty. "Yeah, kind of. The staff isn't making it any easier."

That was when Louis decided to swoop in for the kill. When he had a good share of alcohol in his system, his charm and flirtation skills became 3,000 times better. "Anything that I can help you with? I'd say my main purpose in life is to please."

"Oh, is it now? Well, unless you have a heated blanket, I'm not interested," he responded with a cheeky grin. 

"So, you're cold? I could warm you up," Louis flirted.

The man just raised his eyebrow and slowly turned to back to the desk. "Yeah, I think I'll pass on that heated blanket."

That's when a drunken smirk formed on Louis' face. "Taking me up on my offer, I see?"

"No, actually. I'd rather suffer in the cold than snuggle up to your drunken arse and listen to you continuously flirt with me. You may consider yourself smooth, but it's honestly pitiful," the man said. "Have a wonderful night."

With that, the attractive male was gone, leaving Louis to stand there and watch him walk away. If only he would've been sober, he would've realized what he had just done. 

\----


	4. Chapter 4

Louis padded down to the hotel lobby with the Xbox console in his hands to renew it for the day again. He was a bit hungover from the amount of shots he had had the night prior, but he knew that it could've been worse. However, he certainly didn't fit in when he walked through the lobby with his wild bedhead paired with his pajamas. The employee behind the desk gave him a dirty look, most likely judging his appearance.

"I'd like to renew my rental on this," he requested.

The woman stayed quiet and took the console from him, typing something into the computer. Louis silently stood there, fighting to keep himself from looking like he was about to fall over and sleep right there on the floor.

"Hi, I got a call about a limousine for Harry Styles."

Louis' head snapped over to the woman that was at the register next to him. She was a petite blonde that would normally be Louis' type if he had any say in his relationships. However, she wasn't because Louis found himself wondering who the hell she was to him. Was she a girlfriend? Louis swore that Harry was gay - well, not straight anyway. Either way, she would know where the model was headed off to, which would help Louis' search immensely.

"A limo, eh?" Louis piped up.

"Yeah. Apparently, the photographer that my client is shooting for is buttering him up. I have a feeling they're going to offer something that my client might not agree with," she shrugged.

"At least you get a limo. They're just sending a town car for us," Louis scoffed.

"Really? You must not be working with the Tatler then," she chuckled.

"No, no, I am! You are too?" Louis fibbed, but it was all for the sake of love, so it was okay.

"Yes! That's crazy! I hope they didn't double book...had that incident last week with Bella Hadid. That was a mess on my end. Not so much Harry's," the woman said, tapping away on her cell phone.

"Harry?" Louis asked, pretending to play dumb.

"My client. He's a real sweetheart. He's my favorite client I've ever had because he tries to make my job as easy as he can, unlike my last one," she continued. "Wish I would've had him at the start of my career."

"Sounds like quite the guy," Louis continued.

"You know, you're pretty young and...carefree for a modelling agent," she pointed out, giving him a once over.

"Eh, not really. I look young for my age," Louis smirked. "That and I had a bit of a rough night last night."

"I see..." she trailed. "So, you say that you're doing a shoot with Tatler. Who's your client?"

"His name is Justin. He's a pretty talented model. Bit of a wanker though," Louis shrugged, not lying.

"Here you are, sir," the receptionist interrupted, passing the Xbox back over the counter.

Harry's agent quirked her eyebrow at Louis. He just shrugged. "Did I mention that he thinks I'm his slave as well?"

"Sounds like you've got your hands full," she said. "I better get back to round up the troops. Maybe we'll see you around, mister...?"

Louis smirked. "A real man likes to keep a woman guessing."

Louis grabbed the game console from the counter and made his way back upstairs. He was going to have to rush to get himself to actually look alive and like a successful actor that actually has a career. He wanted to make a great first impression on Harry. One that the boy wouldn't be able to get out of his head.

When he opened the door to the hotel room, Justin had just walked out of the bathroom, a towel draped over his waist and a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. He didn't spare a glance at Louis and instead went about digging through his suitcase for his hair product most likely. Louis put the Xbox down on the TV stand and went to the closet and sifted through the few outfit options for the most professional one that he could find.

"You seem to be in a hurry," Justin piped up after he had spit out the toothpaste.

"And you ought to be as well. We're going to be taking an adventure to Tatler magazine in about twenty minutes," Louis announced to him.

Justin looked at him with a concerned expression. "Can I ask why we're going so damn early?"

"I ran into Harry's agent downstairs when I was renewing the Xbox and she had told me that they have a shoot at Tatler today. They were just getting ready to leave," he explained. "Also, you're my modelling client, so play along if she asks."

Justin walked over to Louis, stopping him from stripping by putting his hands firmly on his shoulders. "Louis, you need to stop. We aren't going to be going to the magazine at the same time. I know that you're anxious to meet your knight in shining armor, but you can't act like...this. You're going to come off as a desperate horn dog. I don't want that to happen to you. So, although it may bruise your ego a little bit, I would like to officially sign on as your wingman to keep you from embarrassing yourself and, well, me."

Louis didn't say anything. He was actually surprised that Justin had even offered considering the fact that he didn't approve of Louis' spontaneous plans. He wanted to challenge Justin, wanting to prove to the Canadian that he was capable of getting Harry Styles to want to be his boyfriend. But he knew that, despite Justin's rude comments, he had his well-being in mind and he really did want to help Louis. With that in mind, he dropped his shoulders and let out a huff. "Okay, 'wingman,' what do you suggest we do?"

"Atta boy," Justin smiled, giving Louis a pat on the shoulder. Louis was utterly unamused by his excitement. "I have a few options. We could use your initial idea of basically stalking the kid and also being frauds by waiting until Harry's shoot is almost over and then go to the studio to casually run into him like it's nothing. Or, since he's staying in this hotel, we could hang out in the bar or something downstairs and wait to run into him. From there, you can chitchat and become known as the creepy man in the hotel bar that he'll tell for the rest of his life. And our last option would be to let me handle it. I personally like the last option because it means that you have less to stress about. Less stress will mean for a more natural meeting rather than an awkward trainwreck that you'd create by trying to be this suave motherfucker."

"There is no way in hell that I'm putting my life into your hands. If that shit worked, you might actually be in a lasting relationship by now," Louis refused.

Justin quirked his eyebrow. "Do you want me to start writing down a list of couples that I've helped to make happen? Because it's going to be a long one."

Louis shook his head, annoyed but Justin's arrogance. "No. But how should I know that I'm going to be able to trust you? How do I know you're not going to make a complete arse out of me? I'm trying to get Harry's pretty little ass to be interested, not run away in terror."

"Just trust me, young grasshopper. Have I ever let you down before?" Justin prompted. He hadn't. "That's what I thought. Get yourself dressed in something comfortable because we're going to go explore Dublin for a while."

\----

"You know, as much as I love Ireland, I came here to pursue a beardship-turned-romance. It's almost nine o'clock at night and I haven't even met the guy yet. You're being a shitty wingman," Louis announced to Justin as he took a sip of his Guinness.

"You are so impatient, you know that? I told you not to worry about it and to let me handle it. If you think that Harry's going to fall to his knees and beg to suck your dick when he lays eyes on you, you need to reassess your thinking. As I said, he's not going to want to be with someone like you, especially straightaway. I'm not being a dick, I'm being brutally honest. All he has to do is search your name on the internet to see what bullshit you've done. The only thing that I can do as a wingman is talk you up and get him to actually meet you. I can't control his thoughts or feelings," Justin told him.

Louis didn't say anything more and took another swig of the Guinness. It made him mad because he knew that Justin was right. He didn't know much about Harry, but he knew that if someone was such an innocent flower (according to Justin anyway), then they're most likely not going to want to associate with Louis because of his dumbass decisions and his shitty career. However, Louis tried to dig for the silver lining and think about how Harry the innocent might actually have a thing for reckless and washed up child stars. Maybe that was his ticket to a fresh start.

"I'll be right back," Justin said, getting up from the barstool.

"Where are you going?" Louis wondered.

"Gotta piss."

Louis was left staring at his bottle of alcohol. He was thinking about how dumb he was to have spontaneously came all the way over to Dublin when it was just going to end in failure. There was no way that he was going to get a model to fall for him or even want to be his beard. Why he hadn't thought of that before was beyond him. It made him rather angry that he was too blinded by his fantasies to look at the reality of it all. With a sigh of defeat, Louis grabbed out his phone and went to the Delta website to see when he could get the next flight back to L.A.

"Come on. We're going to Club M."

\----

Harry was sifting through the closet, looking for something decent to where. He was wearing the complementary plush robe because he was finally settling in for bed, but decided that he should go out for a bit. Ellie walked into the room and gave her client a puzzled look when she looked up from her phone.

"Where are you going at this hour?" she wondered.

"I'm going out to the club," Harry told her, knowing that she wouldn't care as long as he didn't get himself killed or into a fight. "I figured since Liam and Niall are going to be away for the night and you're going to be working, I might as well entertain myself."

"Are you going alone?" she asked. "I usually trust you, but H, I don't know if it's such a good idea to be out by yourself in a foreign country."

"I'll be fine, mum," Harry teased. "Seriously, though. You're being a worry wart. If you need me, I have my phone on. I'm also not planning on drinking too much either. Just want to be in the atmosphere."

"Alright. Be safe, H. Don't want one of these drunk Irishmen pining after you like your some sex toy," she smirked playfully, despite the fact that she was serious.

She went back into her room to continue tapping away on her phone and Harry went back to looking for an outfit for him to wear. He was debating between his yellow floral top and the black sheer one with pink flowers. They were both flowy and good for clubbing since it got so ungodly hot from everyone's body heat. He decided to go with the black sheer top because he wanted to feel sexy. He grabbed his black skinny jeans and a pair of boots, quickly changing into the outfit. He hung the plush robe on the hook that was next to the closet and then looked at himself in the mirror. He felt he looked good, but just needed to comb through his long curls and apply some of his lip balm to make his lips more pink and, of course, supple.   

When he was satisfied with his appearance, he grabbed his wallet and shoved the hotel keycard inside. When he was finished, he grabbed his phone and left the room, on his way to one of Dublin's finest nightclubs.

He didn't expect that there would be such a line to get in the place. There was a huge part of him that wasn't really willing to wait, so he was quickly becoming hesitant on whether or not he should stay there. Sure, Harry could use the excuse that he was a famous model that was friends with Kendall Jenner, but he wasn't sure if the buff bouncer would buy that just by his word. Slowly, Harry started making his way to the back of the line when he heard someone calling his name. He turned around to find Justin Bieber standing behind the bouncer, waving at him and gesturing for him to go over there. With a smile on his face, Harry quickly made his way to the Canadian pop singer.

"Hello, Justin," Harry greeted, so grateful that Justin was going to save him from having to stand in a line that stretched at least a block.

"Hey, Harry. Say, George, this kind soul here is with me," Justin smiled, getting the bouncer's attention.

George the Bouncer gave him a once over before his deep and intimidating voice made an appearance. "Can I see your I.D., sir?"

Harry fished out his wallet and flashed the security guard his I.D., earning a nod from him as he opened the velvet rope. "Thank you, sir!"

Harry followed Justin down the stairs and into the nightclub, a series of flashing lights greeting his eyes and the loud beat of the music greeting his ears. It had been a while since Harry had seen Justin. The last time was when he went backstage at one of his concerts with Kendall, Gigi, and Zayn over six months ago. He didn't know him well, but he knew him at least somewhat on a personal level and knew that he had made somewhat of a good impression because he wouldn't have gotten into the club as quick as he did.

"Do you want me to get you a drink?" Justin yelled as they approached the fluorescent bar.

"I'll take a Malibu cocktail," Harry told him.

Justin went to order, sitting down on one of the empty stools. Harry followed suit, looking around at the well decorated area. He didn't know what to say to Justin. It's not like he could sit and have a peaceful conversation because the music was so loud, he could barely hear himself think.

"Are you here alone?" Harry wondered, figuring that was the best question that he could ask him.

"No, I'm here with a friend. He's waiting up in a private area," Justin told him.

"How did you know that I was in Dublin?" he wondered, figuring that he already knew the answer, but he just wanted to be sure. However, if Justin Bieber was stalking him, he wouldn't be complaining.

"I was talking to Kendall and she told me. She misses you," Justin smiled. "Told her that I would invite you for a drink so you weren't all business for the week."

The bartender slid over their drinks and Harry picked his up, raising it ever so slightly to Justin. "Well, thank you. I appreciate it."

"No problem."

Justin took a sip of whatever it was that he got and proceeded to get up from the barstool and began to walk again. Harry followed him, silently thanking Kendall for telling him. He really liked Justin as both a person and a fan. He was sure that if this wouldn't have happened, Harry would've never hung out with him like this.

They entered a much quieter part of the club that was full of private booths. There wasn't a lot of people that were populating them, which was more than fine with Harry. The club music was still loud, but he could at least hear himself think. When Justin stopped, there was one person seated in the booth, sipping on a beer bottle, his back to Harry.

"Louis, scoot your ass over. We have a guest," Justin told the boy in the booth.

The Louis character turned around and his eyes somewhat widened when he saw Harry. It was the drunk fellow from the hotel the night before. It was quite a small world. "Well, well, we meet again."

Louis scooted himself over to make room for Harry. "What?"

"Harry Styles, this is my wild and good actor friend: Louis Tomlinson," Justin interrupted. "Louis Tomlinson, this is the wildly beautiful supermodel: Harry Styles."

"Good to officially meet you, Louis," Harry smiled.

"You as well," Louis said, returning the smile with a twinkle in his blue eyes.

\----

It may have been the alcohol that was swimming through his veins, but Harry was finding himself strangely attracted to Louis. Every ounce of his being was wanting to take him into the bathroom and let him have his way with him. The three of them were on the dancefloor, letting the beat of the music flow through their bodies. Harry was unable to take his eyes off of Louis. He couldn't help it when he threw himself onto the man with feathery hair.

"How are you feeling?" Louis slurred in his ear as Harry grinded his leg.

"Amazing," Harry groaned, enjoying the feeling of Louis' leg on his bum.

He grinded harder and lower so he was against Louis' crotch. Harry felt the vibration through Louis' body as he groaned, causing Harry to continue doing it in order to drive the boy crazy. When he could feel the bulge beginning to form in his jeans, he turned himself around and crashed his lips onto Louis' in a sloppy tongue-kiss.

"My room," Louis whispered, a look of fire in his eyes. Harry gave a slight nod and they quickly went back to the hotel.

The two boys were all over each other on the way to Louis' hotel room. It was obvious that they were drunk because of how sloppy and disgusting both of them actually were. Plus, there was no chance in hell that Harry would be caught doing something like that. The two nearly fell into Louis' room when they arrived. Harry pushed Louis backwards, not breaking his lips from his. They fell onto the bed, Harry on top of Louis. He quickly tugged at Louis' shirt, ripping it off the guy. He began to sloppily kiss down Louis' toned chest, leaving a trail of dribble as he went along. When he got to the hem of Lou's jeans he looked up at Louis, nearly growling at him.

"Fuck me, Louis Tomlinson."

An expression of eagerness shown on Louis' face and Harry lunged himself at him. Louis began to tear at the waistband of Harry's bottoms, taking them off as fast as he could, along with Louis' own. Harry broke their lips apart and went to Louis' compressed hard on. He slid off the boxers slowly, the boner popping straight out. Wasting no time, Harry deepthroated Louis, earning a loud moan from Louis.

"Holy shit. Your gag reflex is nonexistent," Louis panted, an obvious amount of pleasure in his voice.

Harry began to bob his head up and down, quicker and quicker each time he hit the base. If there was anything that Harry had going for him sexually other than his porn-worthy moans, it was his gag reflex - or lack of one. He had one, but it didn't bother him and allowed him to deepthroat, which in turn caused him to get even more turned on. He could tell that Louis was about to cum and Harry was going to be the biggest tease known to man. He took Louis' boner from his mouth with a pop and Louis looked at him, waiting for the boy to continue.

Harry smirked and adjusted himself so he could grind Louis' dick beneath him. Both boys began moaning loudly. "Wanna ride you."

"Lube's on the nightstand," Louis muttered. "Wanna prep?"

"I need you  _now._ "

Harry reached over and grabbed it, squirting it into his palm as he slicked up Louis' dick. He lifted himself up, lining his hole with Louis' tip. He eased himself down onto his dick until he had him all the way inside. Harry felt like he was being ripped apart being that they hadn't prepped properly. After a few minutes when the pain turned into pleasure, Harry began to slowly bounce up and down on Louis' penis, the pace getting faster and faster. Louis began to buck his hips into Harry at the same time and it was causing Harry to nearly scream. He would've felt bad for the neighbors, but it felt too damn good.

"Fuck me so hard, Louis. Faster, faster, faster!" Harry screamed, letting Louis thrust excruciatingly fast into him.

It didn't take long before Harry's hard on was squirting ribbons out, painting both his and Louis' chests. Louis' pace got even faster before he took the boy and switched positions so Louis was on top of Harry now. Louis went just as hard with his thrusting, Harry screaming because of the sensitivity he was feeling.

"I'm cumming inside you," Louis slurred out.

Before he knew it, Harry felt a warm sensation shoot into him. Louis slowed his pace significantly before he collapsed on top of Harry, their lips meeting in an exhausted and tired kiss. Harry's eyes fluttered shut, not being able to stay open a second longer.

They thought that it was a one night stand that would run its usual course. It wasn't going to be a usual course, however. That one night stand was going to last just bit longer than eight hours.  

\----


	5. Chapter 5

When Harry woke up, it felt like someone was pounding a hammer against the inside of his skull. Because the pain was so overwhelming, he didn't want to open his eyes further than a squint in fear of the what the sunlight would do to him. Hangovers have always been an experience sent from Satan when Harry was unfortunate enough to have them. With the amount that he assumed that he drank last night, he was sure that he wasn't going to be doing much of anything for the remainder of the day, which was completely fine with him since it was his day off anyway. After getting himself woke up, he rolled onto his back, rubbing his eyes in order to prep them for the light that was going to be pouring in. Maybe last night, by some sort of miracle, he decided to shut the blinds before he passed out in the bed. If that were the case, he was going to be impressed with the drunken version of himself.

Harry slowly opened his eyes, a small closed smile making its way onto his face as he looked up at the ceiling of the dimly lit room. He stretched his legs and slowly sat up, looking forward to a nice cold shower and cup of coffee to top it off. However, when he sat up, he nearly fell out of the bed. It was when he noticed the mess of cords and an Xbox sitting by the TV that he realized that he wasn't in his room. His head whipped around, not seeing anyone else in the room or the other bed. It was the hotel that he was staying at - he knew that by the decor and the comforters on the beds. He hadn't thought that he would hook up with anyone while he was drunk - he never had before. Harry looked around, trying to remember the night before, but the only thing that he remembered was meeting up at one of Dublin's dance clubs with Justin Bieber.

No.

_No. No. No._ The thought and terror of what could be reality caused Harry to nearly fly out of the bed. Once he was on his feet, he began to pace around the dark and lonely room. He couldn't have hooked up with Justin last night. There was no way that that could've happened. Justin wasn't gay. Even if he were, he wouldn't have chosen for Harry to be his one night stand. The two were literally polar opposites and Harry knew that he and Justin Bieber never had a chance at being 'bros' because Harry was simply not bro material. Jarry just wouldn't happen.

With Justin pretty much crossed off the list, Harry tried his damnedest to remember the night before. However, the only memory that he had was the pain that was in his bum as he paced around the hotel room. That was when he noticed his clothes lying on the floor. Confused, Harry grabbed onto his shirt and pulled it out, looking down on it. He was in a plain black Adidas sweater that was just his size, but wasn't his. He was so quick to come to his conclusion because Harry didn't own any piece of Adidas clothing unless it were shoes. Even then, he was pretty sure that it was just a pair of shower sandals that he barely ever wore. Harry heard a familiar ring throughout the room - his phone. He got up and went over to his pants that were in crumple next to the wall, grabbing out the device to find a message from Liam, asking him where he was and if he wanted to hang out with him and Niall. The invite sounded fun - mainly because Harry wanted to get to know his best friend's muse. But he wanted to know who  _his_ muse was last night. He replied with a quick text, telling Liam his situation and told him to go and that he would meet them somewhere.

Harry wondered who would ditch their one night stand in their own hotel room. Obviously they were staying for another night as their luggage and personal items were still scattered about. Harry thought that it was awfully trustworthy of whoever the person was to just leave Harry alone with his belongings. For all they knew, Harry could be a crazed kleptomaniac. He certainly wasn't, but everyone had their secrets. Harry sat down on the foot of the bed, feeling himself grow anxious at who had literally entered him the night prior. They had to be someone that completely blew Harry's mind - no pun intended - because Harry had never had one night stands before. He wasn't that kind of person and made sure that he cut himself off so he would never have to experience it. Tears filled his eyes as his mind continued to race. He knew that it wasn't rape because he had consented to it, but it still felt like it was. He still felt violated.

He dialed Kendall's number, just wanting to hear her friendly voice. There was something about Kendall that made her the person that Harry would call in a crises. She just had a calming voice that made Harry more lax about whatever situation he was in. Kendall was Harry's rock. She always knew what to do.

The dial tone was going off in Harry's ear just as the front door opened. Harry heard Kendall say hello, but ignored it and quickly hung up. She would have to wait. Harry swallowed the knot in his throat, waiting for the mysterious person to enter the room. When he finally had, Harry nearly shat himself. He recognized the man from the lobby of the hotel. He had been the drunk guy that had wanted to get into Harry's pants and it seemed that he had gotten his wish.

"Ah, good morning, Princess. Thought you were going to sleep forever," the now-sober-drunk said with a smile. "I brought you a cuppa and a freshly baked cinnamon roll. Oh, and some Tylenol since you had an awful lot to drink last night."

Harry's eyes wandered down to the tray that was in the man's hands, grabbing the plate and the mug from it. He didn't say anything and looked into the cup, as though he was trying to find something off about it. He sniffed at it, the warm smell filling his nose.

"If you think that I drugged you, I didn't. Sure, I may have a bit of a history with drugs, but I'm not an addict or anything of the sort. That's just how the media makes it," he snorted.

Harry stopped midway drink, bringing his up to look at the blue eyed man in front of him. He was really hoping that he didn't make the mistake of sleeping with a photographer. "What do you have to do with media?"

The guy looked slightly insulted at Harry's question. Just because Harry was chummy with some of the most famous people in the world didn't mean that he knew every soul in the entertainment industry. "I'm going to pretend that that didn't hurt and act like I'm telling you my name for shits and giggles. I'm the actor Louis Tomlinson. I was on the show School's in Session."

"I've never seen that show, but it's nice to finally know the name of the man that held me captive in his hotel room last night," Harry replied, watching as Louis' eyes widened.

"I didn't hold you captive. You passed out immediately after we fucked," Louis answered promptly.

"Excuse me for trying my humor out," Harry apologized with a roll of his eyes as he took a sip of the hot beverage. "I'm Har-"

"Harry Styles. I know. Justin introduced us last night. I also happen to somewhat keep up with the fashion magazines, so I've seen you before. I really enjoyed the Burberry shoot. It really accentuated your hair," Louis told him.

Harry was slightly surprised. The guy didn't look like he was an avid reader of fashion magazines. "Guess the alcohol overtook my memories of last night. I'm also a bit concerned about your detailed knowledge about my photoshoots."

"Have you seen yourself? It's kind of difficult to forget someone like you," Louis smirked.

"Well, this is awkward. I think I'm going to back down to my hotel room before it gets any worse," Harry said, getting up from the bed. "Thanks for the sweater, by the way. I'll have it delivered to you before the afternoon."

Harry began walking towards the door, wanting to get out of the hotel room as fast as he could. He just wanted to take a shower and clean off the night before. However, before he could get out of the room, Louis was gripping the arm of the sweater and pulling him back.

"Didn't think you were the type to smash and dash, Styles," he said, the words rolling off his tongue smoothly. "Or, in your case, get smashed and dash."

"It may look that way, but I can assure you that isn't what I'm doing. I just really want to take a shower before my manager kills me," Harry told him, feeling just the slightest bit guilty.

"If that isn't what you're doing, then take a shower here. I promise that it's just as good as yours," Louis prompted, obviously not taking the hint that Harry was trying to leave. "Don't worry about your manager. I'll let her know that you're in good hands."

"You know my manager?" Harry asked with a look of shock gracing his features. However, Louis just acted like it was common knowledge.

"Yeah, yeah. Ellie, right? She's a good woman. Lucky to have you as a client," Louis told him. "Now, go on and get showered up. You're welcome to borrow any of the clothes in the closet."

Harry didn't get a chance to say anything more as Louis walked past him out the door. He stood there, trying to process what was going on. Shaking his head, he walked into the bathroom, grabbing two of the neatly folded towels from the shelf above the toilet. He laid one down on the floor just outside of it and kept one laid nicely on the counter for his hair. The faucet turned on and he turned it all the way up, undressing himself as it warmed up.

A hiss left his mouth as the nearly scalding water began to pelt softly into his back. Slowly, Harry backed into the waterfall, his eyes squeezing shut as he became soaked. He felt like he was burning off the filth from the night before. It was nothing against Louis - the man wasn't ugly. It was the fact that he had given himself to a complete stranger. He wasn't a virgin, but he wasn't easy either. Never had he been out of a relationship when he had sex with someone. Whenever he would go out to the club, he always had been so careful not to do that because he knew that he would hate himself in the morning - much like he was. The awkwardness and the shame of knowing that there wasn't going to be a relationship continued with that person the morning after just wasn't something that Harry had ever wanted to deal with because he didn't have the type of personality to just up and leave someone without ever talking to them again - especially if such an intimate act was involved.

Harry got out of the shower twenty minutes later, still feeling disgusting. He took the towel and wrapped it around his waist and then took another to wrap around his hair. A ping of fear shot through him as he prayed that Louis wasn't waiting on the other side of the door. Sure, the man had seen him naked before, but that was when Harry was drunk and very obviously carefree. He liked to walk around nude, but not when he was sober in front of strangers. That wasn't really his thing either.

Thankfully for Harry, the room was still empty when he walked out of the bathroom. He grabbed his clothes from the pile on the floor and scrunched his nose when he smelt the sweaty stench that arose from it. A groan left his lips as he tossed the flowy blouse on the bed and made his way over to the closet. He felt awkward that he was digging through someone else's clothes, but Louis had told him that he was allowed to wear something in it. There was about ten shirts that Harry had to choose from - all t-shirts. Harry would've preferred to wear something of his own, but he knew that Liam was waiting for him downstairs and he wanted to go back to the room all ready to go.

He grabbed a white t-shirt with an American flag on it and just decided to wear his skinny jeans since he felt even more awkward borrowing someone else's pants. He was also pretty sure that they wouldn't fit because Louis had shorter legs than him. He put the clothes on and went back into the bathroom to fix his hair. He didn't have a brush, but he had a hair binder on his wrist, making it so he could just toss his hair up until he was back down to his room where his brush was.

Harry heard the door to the room close and he tried not to groan. He had been hoping to escape before Louis had gotten back. When he had gotten his hair put up, Harry quickly cleaned up his mess of towels, placing them in the pile that had already started underneath the sink counter. It made him frown a little bit as he usually made it neat and easy for the maid when they came in, but it seemed that Louis wasn't about that.

Louis was standing in front of the TV set, watching the news channel with the remote in his hand. He noticed Harry emerging from the bathroom and looked over to him. "Look at you. You look good in my clothes."

Harry just gave an awkward and half-hearted chuckle and ignored the comment. "Well, I'm going to be going now."

"Ellie said that you're going out with your friend Liam and his boyfriend today. Sounds like fun," Louis said, ignoring Harry.

"You talked to Ellie?" Harry asked.

"I told you that I was going to let her know that you were getting ready so she wouldn't get angry at you," Louis told him.

"Oh. Well, thank you for...everything," he said, beginning to back out of the room. "I'll have your things to you by tomorrow."

Harry was just turning the doorknob when Louis spoke yet again. "Oh, no big deal. I wouldn't mind if you kept them. You look better in them than I do. But we should get going so we don't keep them waiting any longer."

"What?" Harry asked, seeing if he had heard right.

"We should get going so we don't keep Liam and Niall waiting any longer," Louis repeated, the expression on his face completely serious.

"I think you mean  _I_ should get going so  _I_ don't keep them waiting," Harry countered.

"No, Liam invited me along. Good lad. I think he's a good influence on you," Louis told him, as though Harry hadn't been friends with Liam since childhood.

Harry groaned, knowing that it was no use trying to shake the guy off because it just wasn't going to work. He was too persistent and would snake his way into the day no matter what Harry told him. The last thing that Harry wanted to do was spend his day off with some guy he barely knew that was quickly turning into a nuisance.

\----

Louis knew that he was getting under Harry's skin and he was doing it on purpose. He didn't think it would've been that easy, but it was. He felt quite proud of himself. In all honesty, he hadn't thought that he would've gotten him to actually stay and take a shower. Perhaps it was Louis' charm that caused him to change his mind. He wasn't going to ponder. His mission was to make Harry either remember him, no matter what it was going to take - including the lies to Ellie.

Liam's boyfriend was going to take them on a personal tour around Dublin, showing them things and places that they wouldn't have normally gone if they were on an organized tour or if they were by themselves. Louis kept wondering what else was there in Dublin other than pubs, a brewery, and Grafton street, but he wasn't going to rain on Niall's parade or jeopardize his chances with Harry. They were walking along the street, passing by The Brazen Head. Louis had always wanted to visit that place when he was old enough and now he was, so that was where he would make an effort to stop. They were walking in pairs - Niall and Liam next to each other and Harry and Louis by each other. Harry kept trying to nonchalantly walk ahead of Louis so it wouldn't look as though they were together, but Louis wasn't going to let that happen as he did his damnedest to stay the same speed as the taller lad.

"We should go to The Brazen Head," Louis blurted out, deciding that he should start some conversation if he wanted it to go anywhere.

"Yeah, you should. I think they have happy hour going on right now, so you should go check out the Guinness and see if it's worth it," Harry retorted.

"Actually, they don't. Their happy hour starts at six," Niall butted in.

Louis looked over to Harry, his glare cutting through Niall like machetes. "You're welcome to join me when I go."

"I'll have to take a raincheck. I've got a lot of stuff going on for the rest of the week," Harry said right away. Louis knew that the boy was just trying to find an excuse not to hang out with him. But Liam and Niall were unintentionally helping Louis' out.

"I thought Ellie said that there was only one other shoot this week and then you had the rest of it off," Liam pointed out, causing a small smirk to form on Louis' face as he watched Harry get caught up in his attempt at telling his little white lies.

"Well, Ellie told me that she booked a few more things while we're here," Harry said through gritted teeth.

"You don't work all day, so maybe when you're done with your shoots, you could come out with me," Louis suggested. That was when Liam almost got him in a load of shit.

"Doesn't Justin have any shoots? I thought you were an-" Liam started, but Louis cut him off before it was too late.

"He's got a few, but they won't take very long. He's actually out doing the interview right now," Louis lied, earning a weird look from Harry, but thankfully he didn't say anything about it.

The two were quiet for the rest of the walk to wherever the fuck it was that Niall was dragging them. The blonde kept talking, but Louis wasn't listening. It wasn't that he didn't care - well, he really didn't - it was more of him just trying to figure out a plan to get Harry to be an easier egg to crack. He wasn't going to go right out and ask him to be his beard because he knew that, if Harry had agreed to it, the relationship would look fake and like an attempt at Louis trying to get himself back into the fame game. While it was sort of true, he wanted the relationship to actually look like it was genuine and if that meant that he couldn't tell Harry, then that was what he was going to have to do. That was another problem that struck Louis. He and Harry had to be noticed together and photographed and put on TMZ or some media outlet that people seemed to actually give a shit about. But from his short time walking around Dublin, he hadn't noticed any paps walking around the streets or looking shady. He thought that was weird since a lot of celebrities went through Dublin, especially when they were on tour. The fact that Justin Bieber was there and there weren't any paparazzi lurking around just killed Louis. Then again, nobody other than Louis, Justin, probably Scooter, and Harry's crew knew that they were in Dublin. Justin was good when it came to disguising himself.

"Are you lads hungry?" Niall suddenly asked, getting Louis' full attention.

"I could eat," Louis spoke up, earning head nods from Liam and Harry.

"We could go to the the Blarney Inn. They've got amazing food," Niall suggested.

None of them argued against it and they decided to wait for a bus to come by. Louis didn't know if he felt comfortable getting on a city bus. It sounded very conceited, but it wasn't because he didn't want to be seen on them. He actually gave a shit less. If a fan recognized him, he would gladly get his picture taken with them. It was more of the fact that city buses were germy and Louis was a germaphobe when it came to community shared things that were very poorly cleaned at the end of the day - or month for that matter. At least, that was how it felt in the L.A. ones. They waited for about five minutes before a green double decker pulled up to the stop. It was much cleaner looking than the Los Angeles buses, so that was definitely a plus in Louis' book. Maybe he should move to Dublin. He'd be that much closer to Harry in that case.

It didn't take them all that long to get to Blarney Inn and get a seat. Liam and Niall of course sat next to each other and Louis got to sit next to a reluctant and bothered Harry. The boy was warm and Louis wanted to big spoon the taller boy like he had the night before. However, he knew that doing anything remotely couple-y would result in an annoyed and pissed off Harry. Though, Louis thought that it'd be hot when someone that was such a princess was angry. As they sat there, waiting for the waiter to come around, Louis phone vibrated in his pocket. He grabbed it out, intentionally pushing himself further into Harry, earning a grunt from the lad. Louis looked at the message, reading that it was Justin. He opened it and tried his hardest not to sport an evil smirk when he read the contents.

Justin: Since you're out w/ H, would you like to me call the paps? Give you some recognition or is it too soon?

Louis knew that the right thing to do in that moment would be to deny Justin's offer and continue on with their day as though they weren't an actor and model coupling. But with Louis' agenda, he thought otherwise. He wouldn't do anything extreme like kissing or anything, but he would certainly make the headlines say something. The only thing that was trumping that was the fact that Liam and Niall were along. If Louis wanted it to be TMZ worthy, he was going to have to be seen alone with Harry and he had somewhat of an idea that he could do that. He fired a text back to Justin, telling him their location along with strict instruction not to come into the restaurant and hoard them. He was pulling a dick move, but didn't want to make it a bigger one by subjecting Liam and Niall to the overwhelming experience since he assumed that they weren't used to it. Justin sent back an estimated ETA and Louis worked himself out a plan in his head as he pretended to be involved with whatever story that Liam was telling.

About half an hour passed and the four were finished eating. Louis had successfully talked them into sitting around for a while to have a drink and get to know one another - of course, to Harry's dismay. The time was quickly approaching that the paps would be outside. They were seated on the second floor of the restaurant and the bar was on the first. His plan was to have Harry join him in getting another round for them. He was hoping that Harry wouldn't be a bitch about it, but he knew that Liam and Niall would encourage him because they were wanting to spend a little time alone. From the looks of it, Louis assumed that they had just gotten together not that long ago. It was so heartwarming but disgusting at the same time.

"We need another round, boys? It's on me!" Louis offered, setting his plan into motion.

"Yeah, do you want me to go with you?" Liam asked.

"Thanks for the offer, Li, but I was hoping that Harry would accompany me," Louis said, looking at Harry with a smile.

The boy wiped his mouth, clearly caught off guard like he wasn't listening to them. He looked at Louis, a look of annoyance in his eyes. "Fine."

The two got up and Louis walked slightly behind Harry, putting his arm behind his back as he guided him to the stairs. Louis couldn't help but feel a slight butterfly sensation in the pit of his stomach at the whole ordeal. He was hoping that this would be the thing that would propel him back into the spotlight. If all worked out, directors and producers would see that Louis was 'cleaning' his act up and then he would get offered gigs left and right. Then he could fire Kyle and get an agent that actually gave a shit about his livelihood.

When they got downstairs, it wasn't too packed and the windows had a clear view - perfect for paps to get a clear picture. Louis nonchalantly glanced outside, seeing a few 'shady' people sauntering in front of the restaurant, as though they were trying too hard not to look like they were looking for a celebrity to photograph. In just moments, Louis knew that he and Harry would be in the open enough for them to see and his life would hopefully be all over magazine racks and E! News.

He took his arm from his pocket and put it at the small of Harry's back, feeling the boy's heat through his t-shirt. Harry's head snapped to him, a surprised look on his face. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Nothing. I was just helping you so you wouldn't run into a barstool, Princess," Louis said, a smile forming on his face.

"Don't call me that," Harry demanded.

"Ah, did Princess not get enough sleep last night?" Louis winked.

"Would you just shut th - shit! The paparazzi's outside," Harry announced in a whisper-shout as a blinding flash of white light filled the restaurant. Harry moved so he was now facing Louis, his back facing the windows. Louis was a bit unpleased with it, but then he figured that he didn't have to worry about Harry fucking up the act that he was trying to put on.

Louis made sure to put the happiest look on his face as he looked at Harry, hoping to make it look like he was admiring every feature that Harry possessed. "You were born for the cameras, Princess. Smle."

Harry looked at Louis, confusion washing over his prominent features. "I'm not really one that the paps look for. Did you call them?"

Louis' smile fell from his face and was replaced with an unamused look. "You think that I'd call them when I just got reprimanded by my agent for flashing them? If you haven't kept up with the times, the paps and I have a rocky relationship."

"How did they know that you were here then?" Harry countered, preparing for an argument.

Louis let out a laugh so he could convince the audience. "Probably an anonymous tip. They probably figured out that Justin was over here as well and they're probably hoping to catch a glimpse of us."

"If you expect me to believe that you're not an attention seeking player, I've got news for you," Harry told him, thinking that he was pissing Louis off when he was really just turning him on. Louis liked himself a challenge.

"Oh, Princess," Louis smirked, shaking his head. "Let's just get the next round, yeah?"

Louis put his hand back on the small of Harry's back as the approached the bar. He noticed Harry glance over at the paparazzi once more and he couldn't help but smile, knowing that he got his ticket to rebranding.

\----


	6. Chapter 6

"I can't believe that clingy pig did this on fucking purpose!" Harry yelled as he read the headlines on the magazine cover.

"You don't know that he did it on purpose though," Liam pointed out, hoping that he was going to calm Harry's nerves. No such luck.

"Look at him! He's posing for the damn pictures! He's making it look like I actually volunteered to spend my time with him," Harry snapped, shoving the magazine in Liam's face. "He said that he didn't call them and that they were looking for Justin, but I highly fucking doubt that. Why wouldn't they have infiltrated the restaurant then? Louis isn't that famous, as hard as it is for his big fucking ego to hear that."

"Justin has strict commands with establishments when he visits them that block off the paps. If he would've been there, they would've had no choice but to wait outside anyway. And you're right - Louis hasn't done anything relevant other than make himself known for his stupidity, but you know Hollywood - they're hoping that he does a stupid move like that because it guarantees them more money when all's said and done," Niall told him, earning questioning looks from Harry and Liam.

"Can you tell me how you know about Justin's pap preferences?" Liam asked.

"After I tell you that, that is all you have to say? For fuck's sake, you're lucky you're hot," Niall rolled his eyes. "I know because I'm an avid fan and my brother used to work at one of the pubs here that Justin used to frequent. He told me because he thought that I would care and at the time, I didn't understand how that would benefit me at all, but now, I see where it has."

Harry just collapsed down on the couch, his hands covering his face. He was so frustrated and annoyed. The one stipulation he had when it came to modelling was to stay under the radar as much as he could in public and that went for paparazzi. Never before had he had any problems. It was if there were a few when he went out with Kendall, but they never did anything that was very scandalous other than the preposterous dating rumors that surrounded them when they were first spotted hanging out, but that was it. He wanted to stay out of the scandals and the fame drama because he didn't want the world to know every single thing that he was doing. It was the reason that Kendall's mum didn't like him; she had begged and pleaded for him to become a frequent visitor on the show, but he told her that he didn't want anything to do with sharing his private life with the entire world because, after the script was written, it wouldn't even be him anymore. She didn't understand his desire to stay out of the spotlight when he wasn't doing his job, so she remained butthurt and held it against him. If it were Kris' choice, she would forbid Kendall from even associating with him.

At that moment, Ellie walked in. Harry pulled himself together a little bit, hoping that his annoyed expression wouldn't show. However, he knew better as Ellie was some type of professional when it came to reading emotions and people - a skill that Harry somewhat envied.

"What the bloody hell's wrong with you?" she asked, looking down at Harry.

"This bullshit," Harry said, handing her the magazine.

She read over it, not looking pissed off or angry. When she was done, she looked at Harry and nodded her head in approval. "I didn't know that you were with someone. Congratulations. Glad to see that he's working again."

"What the fuck, Ellie?! I don't want anything to do with him!" Harry yelled, not believing that Ellie wasn't upset. "He set this up and framed us as a couple when we just had a one night stand when I was very intoxicated. I could turn around and sue him for rape, technically."

"Okay, no need to bring out the R word," Ellie said, putting her hands up. "As I said, I didn't know about any of this. He just came to the room yesterday morning and told me about you. I thought that you were just friends - nothing more."

"We're not even that! He's the one that's obsessed with me for whatever reason! I don't want anything to do with him!" Harry yelled. "I don't want any part of whatever shit he's trying to pull! Do something about it!"

"Well, someone's a diva this morning," Ellie mumbled to Liam and Niall.

Harry just walked to his hotel room, not wanting to waste anymore time yelling until he was blue in the face. It wasn't often that he got angry and yelled and threw out cusses like that, let alone act like the diva that Ellie pinned him as. There wasn't much when it came to conflict, especially with the media and paparazzi. Harry didn't know how to handle it. The only scandal that he's been apart was taken care of when he had come out of the closet as gay. That wasn't going to be a solution in this case, unless suddenly coming out as straight was a thing. But why would he want to lie?

Harry plopped down on the side of his bed and quickly dialed the number that he knew by heart. Talking to Kendall would make him feel better. She would know what to do as well since she was part of the most famous family in the world.

_"Hey, Harry Berry,"_ Kendall answered on the second ring.

"I wish you were here," he blurted.

_"What's wrong? I thought you were loving Ireland,"_ she asked, her voice quickly filling with concern.

"You haven't read the headlines today? Kendall, I am appalled," he said, a slight chuckle coming from him.

_"Hey now, I don't read the headlines unless I know that something's happening. Or I just get bored during my morning coffee,"_ she giggled.  _"What's on them? Are you okay? Is it about you? Me? Someone in my family?"_

"I was too busy being distracted by the lies about me to look for the Kardashenners," he told her.

_"What lies? Send me the link or tell me what tabloid is talking about you,"_ Kendall urged.

"Just look up my name and I'm sure you'll find my name in there somewhere," Harry instructed.

The line went quiet for a few minutes and Harry fell back so he was lying on the bed, staring up at the white ceiling. He wished that the paparazzi didn't exist - or at least, didn't post such false information about people like they were. It was like the people that they reported on were just objects that were put on Earth for everyone else's entertainment that didn't have any feelings or emotions. Harry didn't know how Kendall did it. She was always getting falsely reported on, along with the rest of her sisters. She came across as though it didn't bother her, but Harry thought that beneath the mask she put up, it did. Maybe she didn't though. It was hard to say.

_"Louis Tomlinson? He was literally just in the tabloids for flashing the paparazzi,"_ Kendall told him.  _"Haz, I'm not going to tell you who can date and who you can't, but I just want you to be careful. He's not a very good influence and I don't want him tainting your innocence or hurting you."_

"Ken, I'm not going out with him! That's why I called you!" Harry clarified to her. "And who said that I'm innocent?"

_"What the hell do you want me to do about it? Just because I'm a Jenner doesn't mean that I can magically change this,"_ Kendall snarked, not meaning it offensively.  _"And you are innocent, it's adorable. And don't bring out the sex argument - you're still an innocent flowery boy."_

Harry rolled his eyes, not in the mood to fight with Kendall over the degree of his innocence. "I know that you can't change it. I want to know what I'm supposed to do! It's not true! He called them and set it up so it would look like we're together! He's a clingy pig that won't leave me alone!"

_"Okay, okay. But before anything, my question is why you were even with him in the first place,"_ Kendall prompted.

"Because I went out last night, got heavily intoxicated, accidentally slept with him, and then he insisted on coming with Liam, Niall, and I on our day out, hence why we're at a pub," Harry explained to her.

_"You had a one night stand?! Harold! Who even are you?!"_ Kendall gasped, acting like she was overly shocked.

"Kendall Nicole, I'm not discussing my late night escapade with you. Can you please help me? I just want this to be turned around so I don't have to worry about it ever again," Harry begged, near tears. This scandal and drama was taking the piss out of him.

_"Alright, fine. You can tweet something out, maybe make it passive since you're not really blunt on social media. I don't know, put your little twists and mystery into your words - whatever the hell you do, do it so it's easily detectable that the press is fucking wrong. Another thing that will help your case is to have Ellie call the magazine and demand that they take the magazine off the stands as soon as possible and/or tell them to come up with a follow up article that's just making a joke of it and basically just saying that it was a misunderstanding. The best way you can assure that the drama ends is just to confront it yourself somehow. Also, stay away from that guy and do NOT get pictured with him and you'll be golden,"_ Kendall told him.  _"Don't worry, I'll text you what I just said as well."_

"Okay. Thank you so much, Kendall," Harry thanked, a wash of relief coming over him. "I can't wait to go home. I miss you and this trip is just too much."

_"I know you miss me,"_ Kendall joked.  _"Soon, Harry Berry. Then we can have girl time, okay?"_

"I honestly can't wait."

\----

Harry did everything that Kendall had said and was waiting for a response from Ellie. After he had stormed out of the room, nobody had bothered to check on him. He supposed that Liam told them that it was best to leave him alone, considering that he has seen him that angry before. It was the right advice, but now he needed Ellie and she wasn't going to bother to answer him now either.

He got up from the bed, leaving his Apple laptop open on his email. After he had gotten off the phone with Kendall that morning, he decided that it was best to spend the day by himself, which is exactly what he did. There was no reason to leave as there was a fully stocked mini bar to keep him fed and unlimited television to keep him entertained - plus free WiFi so he could scroll the internet or watch beauty tutorials. Harry grabbed the clothes he threw off from the floor and grabbed two hangers, hoping that they weren't too wrinkled so he could actually spend the day in them and not just two hours. As he was hanging up the attire, there was a knock on the door. He hooked the hanger on the metal bar and then ran over to the door, figuring it was Ellie, so he didn't care that he was wearing his pajamas. But when he opened his door, he was unpleasantly surprised to see an unwanted guest trying to pose sexily for him.

"You're not welcomed here," Harry blurted, looking at the man, unamused.

"That's not a very nice way to treat your boyfriend, princess," Louis said with a smirk as he leaned against the doorframe.

"I'm not your boyfriend. Can you please leave now?" Harry requested, not wanting to get abusive with his words.

"But why would I do that? I just got here," Louis said, trying to entice Harry and it was having the opposite effect on him. "Mind if I come in? Great."

He didn't give Harry a chance to answer or block him out of the room and just barged into the suite. Harry stayed at the door and looked up to the ceiling, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Louis, you need to leave. I don't want you here."

"Did you wake up on the wrong side, princess? Or is it because you haven't been in my presence for twenty-four hours?" Louis tried to flirt.

"I know that this is going to leave a big bruise on your ego, actually I hope it leaves a hole, but I actually would rather be anywhere than in your presence," Harry snarked with a tight smile. He was so thankful that his mum's sassy streak had been passed down.

"Ouch. Kitty got claws," Louis responded, pretending to be bothered by it, but was just acting in order to spite Harry. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go down to the bar to get some drinks and become acquainted with one another, but I see you're a little pissy tonight."

"Not pissy, just annoyed by you," Harry smiled, his arms folded across his chest.

"I guess I'll get going then," Louis nodded and began to walk out of the room, but stopped and whispered right in Harry's ear, his words nearly sending Harry through the roof. "You think you're pissing me off, but you're just turning me on, H. I like meself a fiesty little minx."

He continued to stroll out the door, as though he was the coolest thing in the world, which he was not. Harry slammed the door shut behind him, letting out an exasperated sigh. He went from just strongly disliking Louis Tomlinson to completely despising him. When he felt that he was calmed down just a smidgen, he grabbed his phone from his charger and dialed up Ellie. He wanted to leave Ireland as soon as he could.

"Ellie, I know you're ignoring me, but you need to come here right now," Harry demanded as soon as she answered the phone. He didn't give her any time to answer before he hung up. Maybe she would think that it was an emergency and actually listen to him instead of ignoring him like the plague.

About five minutes later, Ellie softly knocked and then entered the room. "Harry, what are you on about? Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay!" Harry exclaimed as he emerged out of the closet. "Louis Tomlinson decided to pay a visit. He seems to think that we're actually together now that the media thinks so. And he just barged into this room like he owned the place! I want to go home, Ellie. I called Kendall and she gave me some advice about what to do, which I thought would take care of everything, but now that he has this delusional idea, it's not going to."

"I know you talked to her. She CC'd me on the email," Ellie told him. "But H, you've got to settle down. We'll follow the steps that Kendall gave and counteract the rumors so you can go back to living like you normally do. We don't need to cut this trip short because of him."

"You don't understand, Ellie. Kendall told me that Louis is someone that I need to stay away from because he'll take my reputation down. She knows Justin, who is best friends with the scumbag. I don't want to be associated with him. Not only that, but the man is absolutely persistent. He won't give up and deliberately tries to get under my skin," Harry continued.

"I personally don't want him around you either, Harry. I wasn't going to say anything when I first read it because I wasn't sure how you felt about him and didn't want to be that kind of agent, but then you erupted this morning and that gave me the answer that I had wanted to hear," Ellie admitted. "I used to be a fan of the show that he was on and gave him the benefit of the doubt about some his stupid mistakes, but I knew exactly who he was when I first met him, yet he continued to lie to me and told me that he was a modeling agent for some guy name Justin, as if he didn't expect me to know who he was or who his best clubbing buddy is. I'm actually surprised that he didn't show up during your shoot at Tatler."

"This is too much information at once, woman. When did you talk to him?" Harry asked, deciding that he would start with one point and just go through the list.

"The morning of the Tatler shoot. I was down at the front desk about the limo they had sent and Louis was also there, looking like he had just crawled out of bed with an Xbox in his hands. He tried to tell me that he was a modeling agent and that his client had a shoot with Tatler that day as well, but I knew he was lying because, for one, a modeling agent never goes around looking like a deadbeat that spends his free time rotting away while playing video games. He was showcasing it. Another reason is because he acted as though his client was his pal and not actually a client, calling him an arse. I was taught to never talk negatively about my client, no matter the circumstances. That can only happen when the relationship is terminated," Ellie told him. "And I recognized him from his scandals, so there was really no chance that he could've hid it from me."

"How did he even know about Tatler? Did you tell him?!" Harry asked.

"Yes, I mentioned it, but how was I supposed to know that he was planning on all of this?!" Ellie defended.

"Okay, fine, you didn't know," Harry sighed, knowing that he couldn't be mad at her for that. "I just want to leave. I don't have any other shoots this week anyway. We can come back on holiday when Liam visits Niall."

Ellie shrugged. "Fine. I'll book a flight for tomorrow afternoon, but you're the one that's telling Liam and breaking their lovefest."

Harry nodded. He hated to ruin the trip for his best friend, but he knew that Liam would understand when he was told the situation.

\----

Louis walked into the pool area, quirking his eyebrow at Justin's position of sitting in a lounge chair as though he was on a beach sunning himself. With a smirk gracing his lips, Louis grabbed a clean towel and dipped it into the calm pool water, wringing it out. He snuck up to Justin, trying not to snicker about what he was about to do to his best friend. When he felt he was ready, he snapped the towel across Justin's bare chest, causing him to jump up and nearly flinging himself and the lounge chair into the pool.

"What the fuck, Tomlinson?!" Justin yelled.

"Just wanted to test your reflexes," he teased.

"I thought you were going to the bar with Harry," Justin pointed out when he repositioned himself back on the lounge chair.

Louis lowered himself into the chilly pool water. "I tried, but it seems that he woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"I think you mean he read the headlines and didn't like the looks of it," Justin snorted. "Louis, you can't go about this like you are. You can't force the idea on him."

"I'm not forcing anything on him. We met, had sex, he enjoyed it. Apparently, I was his first one night stand, so he's trying to wrap his head around it. Trust me, he'll be putty in my hands in no time," Louis told him confidently.

"You're so cocky," Justin chuckled.

"Says you," Louis huffed as he floated on his back.

"Where do you think you learned it from?" Justin scoffed.

\----

Louis was sat on the bed, the only light coming from the screen of his laptop. Justin was passed out, snoring like no tomorrow, next to him. It was after midnight - right when Louis got motivation to do anything it seemed. He was researching Harry, following all of his social media in order to get to know him a little bit more. Though, Harry didn't update his social media much. When he did, it was this quizzical and meaningless nonsense that didn't have much, if any, logic in. But Louis wasn't going to say anything because his Twitter was filled with things about sports and commentary about the few shows that decides to watch on occasion. But he had been expecting more because Harry just hit him as the type that would be into that shit. Like taking pictures of his frilly Starbucks drinks or selfies when he was out clubbing with Kendall and co. But he wasn't. For the most part, it looked like he avoided social media unless it was a new photoshoot or if something tragic happened in the world.

While he was also blowing up Harry's notifications with likes and comments and follows, he was also researching how beards actually worked and how these big management teams organized them almost flawlessly. Granted, they had a hefty paycheck that they offered the beard, but it was still worth trying to find what to do.

"What are you doing up?" Justin grumbled from next to him, squeezing his eyes shut as the computer light blinded him.

"Research. You told me that I wasn't doing the beard thing right with Harry, so I'm looking more into it to see if there's another way I'm supposed to. Apparently, I have to offer money," Louis explained, realizing that Justin wasn't even listening anymore as his eyelids fluttered shut.

Louis figured that it was about time that he should turn in as well, annoyed with the lack of informaton that was given on beards. He had to get a good night's rest if he was going to successfully woo Harry by the time he left at the end of the week.

\----

A pillow was the thing that made Louis go damn near into cardiac arrest. He almost fell out of bed because he had jumped so high. He had been sleeping on his stomach, but somehow ended up on his back. Justin was standing at the foot of the bed, dying of hysterics.

"Payback's a bitch, eh?" Justin laughed.

"What the hell did you do that for?!" Louis wondered.

"Want to go to breakfast? I know you didn't go to sleep until wee hours of the morning, but I'm fucking hungry and I felt generous," Justin asked him.

"Yeah, yeah. Just let me get a fuckin' shirt on, yeah?" Louis agreed, crawling out of the bed. He walked over to the closet and yanked a t-shirt from the hanger. "Shall we?"

The two boys exited the room and made their way downstairs to where the breakfast area was. There wasn't many people mulling around and the paparazzi that had been outside of the hotel the day before was for the most part diminished. It was nice because it meant that Louis could sit in the middle of the dining area and not have to worry about the damn paps trying to catch a picture of him eating a damn muffin. When they entered the line to the breakfast bar, Louis began to immediately scoop out a good size helping of eggs onto the plate. He was reaching for the salt and pepper when someone had caught his eye, but not in the way that he had expected. It was Harry, but he had his luggage towing behind him. Ellie was talking to the front desks, passing the keys over to the receptionist.

Louis couldn't believe it. His plans were soiled.

\----


	7. Chapter 7

Harry fell back onto his bed in pure bliss, his eyes gently closed and a closed smile gracing his lips. The fluff of his comforter making it seem as though he was on a cloud. There wasn't any movement throughout the apartment - no TV noise, random knocking on the walls, no fears of anyone walking in the room unannounced. Best of all, there wasn't a crazy and washed up child actor knocking uncontrollably on the door. It was relieving to finally be home.

The flight home wasn't as smooth as Harry had wanted. Liam was upset that he had to leave Niall earlier than planned and he moped around the whole flight. Harry felt terrible because they had left Ireland on his behalf and he had ruined his best friend's shot at true love. Ellie had to deal with the modelling agency, who weren't very pleased that they had left early. It wasn't like it was that big of deal because they were literally paying them to have a few day's vacation. They should be happy that they don't have to spend as much money.

Either way, Harry knew that Ellie and Liam had a bit of saltiness towards him. He didn't blame them. It wasn't like he wanted to leave Ireland - it was such a beautiful country. He was forced to because he didn't want to be involved in a scandal nor did he want the paparazzi to follow his every move because he was spotted with an actor that was most known for getting high on his free time. That wasn't something that Harry wanted to be associated with and he didn't think that his agency would want that either, so he was going to do what he had to in order to protect both his privacy and his reputation that he had worked so hard for.

After about fifteen minutes of relaxing and nearly falling asleep, Harry figured that he should make himself something to eat and unpack. He wanted to get back into the swing of everyday life and hoped that the paparazzi didn't pay much mind to him. The first thing that he did when he walked into the living room area was open the blinds to let the natural light in. He went into the kitchen and turned on the lights and put his phone onto his dock, deciding to make himself a nice meal and be happy while doing it.

Cooking was one of Harry's favorite things in the world. He didn't do it often since he was always busy with work or Kendall insisted that they go out somewhere, but when he would get a chance, he would experiment with different types of spices or try new recipes. If he made too much, he would deliver some to the sweet old woman that lived down the hall. His most famous dish to make was chicken cordon bleu with a side of his famous mashed potatoes topped with butter and bits of asparagus. His mum taught him the basics on how to make it, but ever since he polished his skills, he refused to eat hers because he had grown so accustomed to the way he had made it.

He was part way through getting everything out from the refrigerator when there was a knock on the door. Harry figured that it was most likely Kendall since she was one of the few people that knew he came back early. He wiped his hands on a hand towel and tossed it over his shoulder as he went to the door. But instead of it being Kendall, it was the landlord of the apartment building.

"Hello, Wade," Harry greeted, trying not to let the concern show in his voice. He didn't know why Wade was visiting him. He had made sure that his rent was paid early and that he wasn't too disturbing of a neighbor. "Would you like to come in? I was just making myself dinner. I could prepare another plate if you want."

"No, thank you though," Wade smiled, but then let it falter. "I just stopped by to let you know that there is a hoard of photographers crowding outside the door. I have Tucker on guard to make sure that none of the other residents let them inside."

Harry was dumbstruck. "Are you sure that they're here for me?"

"You're the only celebrity that lives in this building, Harry. I would like to think that they're here for me, but they told me that they didn't have any interest in my personal life," Wade said with a smirk.

"How did they find me?!" Harry wondered, not expecting Wade to know anything about it.

"I'm assuming that they followed you home from wherever it was that you came from. Was that Jenner girl with you?" Wade asked.

"No. My manager dropped me off here. I wasn't with anyone that they would give half a shit abou -" Harry stopped, realizing why they could possibly be there. "That irrelevant piece of shit." 

"Excuse me?" Wade asked.

"Not you. Thank you for letting me know about that, Wade. You have a good night," Harry said, trying not to sound turse with him.

After he shut the door, he went directly to his phone and unplugged it as he went to Safari, googling himself. The headlines that popped up made Harry's blood boil. He clicked on the one that usually gave somewhat sensical stories. However, it was about him and there hadn't been any reporters calling him and asking him questions, so he assumed that it was going to all be bullshit, as per usual.

**_Harry Styles: Model left actor Louis Tomlinson in Ireland after a steamy date_ **

**_Ah, the golden hearted and adorable Harry Styles. Well, it appears that he isn't as pure and loving as he makes himself out to be. The model was last spotted in Dublin, Ireland exploring the town with a few pals. Nothing that big, right?_ **

**_Well, shortly after exploring, the group went to the Brazen Head pub - one of the most famous eateries in Dublin - and Styles was spotted with Hollywood bad boy Louis Tomlinson. The two were having a casual conversation and then the two boys started getting touchy and lovey with each other. There wasn't any solid proof such as kissing, but according to the bartender inside the pub, Tommo and his model love interest were pretty cozy with each other and didn't care whether or not they were spotted together or not._ **

**_So, was it a double date then?_ **

**_We were led to believe that until our dear Harry Styles was spotted boarding a plane early this morning in Ireland and later arrived to his home in London - leaving Louis Tomlinson in Dublin by himself!_ **

**_The receptionist in the hotel commented that Harry seemed aggravated and was looking around excessively, as though he was scared someone would find him. Was that someone Mr. Tomlinson, who was staying in the same hotel with pop superstar and best mate Justin Bieber? The receptionist also claimed that Styles was supposed to be staying until the end of the week - either he got the days mixed up or he was making a quick escapade._ **

**_Tommo was later spotted sauntering through the airport this afternoon, looking somber and, well, dumped. Poor boy is probably on his way back to L.A. where there is, unfortunately, no Harry. Our hearts are with yours, Loubear._ **

**_Not looking so sweet and lovable after this, Mr. Styles._ **

**_Our reporters are working on getting a comment from both boys, so be sure to stay tuned for any updates on this love affair._ **

Harry let out a loud and angry moan when he finished the article. Yes, the article was correct in saying that he had left because he wanted to get away from Louis, but all of the other shit was untrue. He didn't get kissy or lovey with him - quite the opposite actually. But the fact of the matter was that the media was going to take this and run. His reputation was going to get drug through the mud for something that didn't have full details.

Panic set in and Harry quickly dialed Ellie's number. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to go to the paps outside and tell them that they were full of shit and didn't know anything that they were talking about, but he knew that that would only lead to more rumors and scandal, which is not what he needed.

_"Miss me already, heartbreaker?"_ Ellie answered.

"El, I don't know what to do. Have you read what they're saying about me?!" Harry quickly rambled. 

_"Yes, I have. They make you seem like quite the playboy,"_ Ellie answered, not being any bit helpful.  _"I didn't know I was managing such a flirt."_

"Ellie, stop. I want this to stop. They're making look bad and they don't even know the story. There isn't a love affair or steamy date that they can even write about! It's all fake!" Harry cried.

_"Harry, calm down. There's really nothing you can do to stop it because they'll trump what you say and make it seem like you're making it up. The media is the devil's work. Just let it run its course and it'll blow over in a few days. I promise you. If you want to do anything, post something quizzical on social media or post one of your recent modelling pictures just to take attention off of it. And for the love of God, do NOT read the comments,"_ Ellie instructed.  _"You're going to be fine. The paparazzi just like to make drama that isn't there. You know that. Don't panic about it, okay? Now, go back to doing whatever it is you do in your spare time and forget about this."_

Harry took a deep breath, letting Ellie's instructions sink into his brain. "Thank you, Ellie. I hope you're right."

_"I am! I was trained on how to deal with this, so I'm practically an expert when it comes to PR,"_  Ellie said, the smirk on her face coming through her voice.  _"Goodnight, H."_

"Goodnight, Ellie," Harry said, hanging up the call.

She was right. He had to take everyone's minds off of the matter at hand. He had to give some sort of distraction and they would forget about it. Harry wasn't an A-list model like Kendall and Louis was a washed-up actor that sat and did drugs all day, so it wasn't like very many people would care that much for that long.

He plugged his phone back into the dock and went on making his chicken cordon bleu. He wasn't going to let this control his life. Not when it was almost already old news.

\----

**INSTAGRAM**

**h** **arrystyles: i feel a draft.**

When Ellie told him to post something to distract everyone, Harry did. He knew that people of all genders that followed him were fans of seeing his body, so what better way to get their attention by posting a photo that showed a part of him that wasn't photographed all that often. He sat at his breakfast bar, debating on whether or not he should go get his routine coffee from Starbucks. He hadn't left his house in three days - ever since he had gotten back from Ireland. He was technically on vacation, so he didn't have much of a reason to regret it.

He had kept himself from scrolling through social media or Googling himself for any news stories. He figured that Kendall or someone would let him know if anything different had transpired, so he wasn't too worried about it. He was skeptical about the fact that it had just blown over without any other thought or mention, but if that were the case, he wasn't going to complain one bit.

Deciding that he should try and brave the outdoors, Harry went into his bedroom and grabbed out some things that would help to disguise him. When he had finished getting dressed, he went down to the lobby, his jaw nearly smacking the floor when he saw that there wasn't a swarm of photographers. He was skeptical about not needing his disguise, but at the same time, if they had forgotten about him completely, why was there a need for it?

"You can come out of hiding. They left yesterday morning and haven't been back," Tucker spoke from behind the desk, not taking his eyes from the newspaper he was reading.

"Oh. Okay. Thank you for not letting them in here, Tucker. You have no idea how much I appreciate that," Harry thanked as he began walking out the door.

"Just doin' my job. Have a wondrous day," Tucker answered, not sounding like the most enthusiastic front clerk that the world had to offer.

Harry took off out the front doors and out into the fast-paced London. The light hit him like a wall. Everything looked so different despite him having looked at it through the windows. He shook his head and began walking towards Starbucks with his head down just slightly in case there were any incognito photogs lurking around. They would've already snapped him leaving, but they wouldn't have much of a story since he was by himself and they hadn't flocked him to ask questions or for him to state something.

The walk to the coffee shop went smoothly. He hadn't gotten stopped by anyone and only received a few odd glances. He figured that it was because he was wearing such a goofy get up and walking with his head down. It wasn't like everyone knew why he was in the headlines – or did they?

"Lookie here, lookie here," Zoey smirked when Harry approached the counter. "The usual or is the usual changing?"

"Why would it be changing?" Harry asked, a bit of a chuckle in his voice. "I'll take what I normally get."

"It's been pretty quiet around here without you," she said. "How was Ireland?"

"How'd – never mind," Harry stopped when he remembered the tabloids had spread his life all over cyberspace like butter on bread. "It was good. It's such a beautiful country. A friend of mine's boyfriend lives there, so I might have to tag along when he goes for a visit next."

"That's sweet. And the photoshoot or whatever was good, I assume?" she asked. She was acting unusual, but Harry wasn't going to say anything. He had been all over the news, so he assumed that she just didn't know what to say to him considering.

"It was lovely. Very nice people. I'm excited to see the end results," he beamed, proud of his work. It was the least he could do to try and make the conversation seem less awkward. "How has work been? I've missed seeing you."

"My job has been pretty boring compared to yours," Zoey said with a smile, sliding over two takeaway cups instead of one.

"But I didn't ord-" Harry started.

"Don't worry about it – it's on me," Zoey winked before whisking off to work with another customer.

Harry grabbed both cups and walked out the door, slightly confused as to why she had given him two. It wasn't like he had told her that he was spending the day with anyone or anything of the sort. She knew – the whole world knew – that he was gay, so there was no possible way that she was flirting with him in hopes that she could turn him straight. That would never happen if that were the case anyway – Harry preferred men way too much.

However, it was when he walked out of the coffee shop that he was bombarded with a crowd of photographers, causing him to nearly fall backwards. He scolded himself that he hadn't put his disguise back on because now he was vulnerable and exposed. He tried to shield himself with the cups, but that only led to thousands of questions that he didn't want to answer about him having two cups.

It took Harry about twenty minutes to get back to his apartment building when it usually took him half the time. The paparazzi, of course, followed him the entire way and were once again camped outside the main entrance. He stood against the door when he got safely inside and caught his breath before looking over at Tucker.

"Looks like you're on guard duty again," Harry told him. "I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, yeah. At least I get paid," he muttered.

Harry walked over to the lift and backed inside, finally feeling safe and comfortable enough to take off his ridiculous disguise. It was rather sad that the only place that he considered to be his safe haven was now basically a confined box. That reminded him that he was going to have make sure that his blinds were shut up tight from that point forward. The last thing that he wanted was for any photographers to get a picture of him completely nude.

Once he was in his apartment, he let out a loud groan of annoyance and put the coffees down on the counter. However, he nearly soiled his pants when he realized that he wasn't alone in his own apartment.

"Was wondering when you'd get back."

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Harry gasped, looking at the relaxed he-devil that had made himself at home on his couch. "How did you even get in here?"

"Hello to you too, Princess," Louis smirked – the one that nearly drove Harry to insanity. "I was in the neighborhood and wanted an answer as to why you ditched me in Ireland. I really thought we were connecting."

"I didn't ditch you – I left because I wanted to come home. And we did not have a connection other than annoyance and hatred. Now, please, show yourself out of my house," Harry demanded, not wanting to put up with the actor's attitude.

"No connection, eh? That's not how you acted the other night," Louis winked, getting himself up from the couch. He walked over to the extra coffee, taking a sip of it, looking off into the distance as though he was an A-list coffee critic. "That's also why the second coffee is exactly what I order. Cute. I didn't think you'd go through the effort to find out what I like."

Harry rolled his eyes, becoming more and more annoyed with Louis as the words kept finding a way out of his mouth. "I was completely inebriated when we were...together. If I were sober, I wouldn't have chosen you. And I didn't go through any effort. The barista had just given it to me, so I'm assuming that that was completely set up. Can you leave now? We are not together and we never will be, so please, get the hell out before I call the police about an intruder."

"You're so sexy when you're pissy, Princess," Louis said, ruffling Harry's hair, knowing full well how much that angered him. "Can't wait to see you all hot and bothered every day."

"There is no way on God's green earth that you are ever stepping foot in this apartment again," Harry stated, walking over to the door, opening it as he waited for Louis to waltz out of it.

"You wouldn't even help a guy out? The paparazzi is like a storm out there and if I walk out of here looking all distraught and upset, what are they going to think? What if I decide to answer some of their questions? How's that going to make your wholesome little image look?" Louis smirked.

Harry's eyes narrowed, realizing that he didn't have much of a choice but to do what Louis wanted. "What do you want?"

"A place to stay? It won't be for long – just until my manager gets here and I can get my hotel booked through him," Louis told him. "What do you say, Princess?"

Harry contemplated on saying no, but he knew that Louis would say something to the media and that was the last thing that he wanted. The guy wasn't giving him much of a choice. "Fine. But don't get in my way."

A smirk formed on Louis' lips. "We're going to have a fun time, aren't we, Princess?"

\----

Louis lounged on the extra bed in Harry's apartment, smirking up at the ceiling. He was surprised that Harry had let him stay, but at the same time, he knew that telling him that he was going to say something to the paps would definitely get to him. He had already made an anonymous tip that morning when he had arrived and he figured that Harry wasn't aware of that quite yet. He felt a little bad, but he was determined to get Harry to want to be with him. Louis was going to do whatever he had to.

He decided to get up from the bed as a wonderful smell wafted throughout the apartment. It was enough to make his stomach grumble and also curious as to what was cooking. The sight of Harry standing at the stove turned Louis on to the point that he almost had a boner. He shook his head and sauntered over to the barstool, climbing on as he continued to watch his darling host.

"How sweet of you to make me dinner," Louis spoke. "Didn't know I'd gotten myself a personal chef."

Harry twisted around, giving him some type of side eye. "I'm not making you anything and I'm certainly not your personal chef."

"There you go again being a feisty little minx. I think you're just trying to turn me on now," Louis smirked, knowing that he was getting under Harry's skin. He got up from the stool and sauntered back into the guest room, deciding that he would leave Harry to his business as he made a few calls.

Justin was the first that he was making, mainly just to rub in the fact that Louis was right and he was wrong. They had flew back to L.A. after they had watched Harry leave Dublin, mainly because Louis was upset and didn't know what to do. He was tempted to follow him, but then the damn media did their job and tried to tarnish Harry's image and Louis was in the papers again – but this time, it was for something good. It was like they were helping him along with his plan. So, that's what led Louis to telling Justin his plan of flying out to London and continuing his plan. Justin had proceeded to tell him that it wouldn't work and that there wasn't any chance that he could change Harry's mind on how he felt, let alone even want to talk to him. Well, now that Louis was staying in the guest bedroom, he could rub it into Justin's face.

_"What the hell do you want? Did you realize your plan isn't going to work? Oh, and if you need my help, I'm not flying my jolly ass to London to bail you out. I have shows to perform and fans to please,"_ Justin answered, already expecting the worse.

Louis smirked. "Look at you having no faith in me at all. Well, I'll have you know that I've got myself a lovely room at Casa de Styles."

_"Are you in a shitty service area or did you say that you are actually staying at Harry Styles' apartment?"_ Justin asked.

"Harry's got great service in here," Louis told him, a smirk pasted on his face.

_"No fucking way. I want proof,"_ Justin requested.

"Oh, I'll gladly give you proof," Louis said, going out of the bedroom and back to the breakfast bar. He opened up the front-camera and positioned the phone. "Turn around, Princess."

Harry turned around and Louis snapped the selfie, the phone making a shutter sound. Harry was glaring at Louis. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm not putting it on social media. Don't get your panties in a twist," Louis told him as he sent the picture to Justin and walked back into the guest room. "Proof enough? You even got to hear him be all feisty."

_"He doesn't sound like he was too pleased about you being his houseguest. Does he know about the tip yet?"_ Justin wondered.

"I'm assuming not, but he will, I'm sure. Kendall will let him know if he doesn't look himself," Louis told him.

_"Jesus. Well, have fun with...him. Try not to get arrested. I gotta go on stage,"_ Justin told him.

"No promises. Later, mate," Louis told him, ending the phone call.

He wanted to call Kyle and tell him that he was going to need him to fly over, but he didn't want to put himself under that amount of pressure to get Harry to be his "boyfriend." The one thing that Justin was right about was that Harry didn't like Louis, despite having had had sex with him less than a week ago. To the average person, it would take a hell of a lot of work and effort to change his mind. However, Louis had a few tricks up his sleeve that were 100% guaranteed to work. He just had to figure out when he was going to start using them.

\----


	8. Chapter 8

"Louis Tomlinson, who the hell is the source that supposedly leaked something to the media?!"

Louis' eyes shot open as the familiar and sexy voice radiated throughout the apartment along with the slamming of the front door. He had been dozed off and didn't even realize that Harry had left, but obviously, he had. Louis got out of bed just as the door opened with an infuriated Harry storming through it. While it was apparent that he was trying to look pissed off and mad, he really just looked like an upset baby kitten.

"I knew you'd be begging for more, Princess," Louis smirked, trying to show Harry that he wasn't afraid of him.

"Oh, shut the fuck up, you hunk of pig shit. Who the hell said this bullshit to the paps?! Was it you?! It was you, wasn't it!" Harry accused.

"What are you talking about? I didn't say anything to those fuckers," Louis grimaced, putting his acting skills to good use.

"You are so full of shit. You expect me to believe that you didn't say anything before you magically show up in my apartment, which I still don't understand how you even got in here by the way," Harry fumed.

"I'm telling you that I didn't say anything. Why would I want to be in the tabloids known as the one that you hurt? I don't like it just as much as you," Louis scoffed, impressing himself with how convincing he was. "The paparazzi has never been on my side, let alone listened to what I had to say. What makes you think that they would start now?"

"I don't know, because you're painted as the victim? A twist in the story that is Louis Tomlinson, child star gone rogue?! I want you to get out of my fucking apartment!" Harry commanded.

Louis put his arms up in surrender. "Woah, woah. No need to be hasty. I promise you that it wasn't me."

"You really expect me to trust you?" Harry asked, quirking his eyebrow. "You have five minutes to get your rubbish and leave."

"Harry, you can't just kick me out. I have nowhere to go and there's a hoard of paps out there. That's like throwing me into the wolfpit. Also, it's not going to do you any good if you do that," Louis said cautiously, as if Harry was holding him at gunpoint like a crazy girlfriend. "Please, Harry."

"I know what you're doing, Louis. You're just telling me that because you're of the thinking that I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep my reputation pure. It's not going to happen, so go out the back fucking door and never ever come back here," Harry hissed angrily. "There's a back door. I suggest you find it."

"Ha-"

"If you don't leave now, I won't hesitate to call the police. Wouldn't want that now, would we?" Harry said with a maniacal smirk on his face.

Louis didn't try to fight it anymore because he knew that he wasn't going to get anywhere with it. Instead he went over to the other side of the couch and grabbed his overnight bag. He walked to the door and turned to face Harry, sad that the boy that he actually did feel a little something for was kicking him out.

"See you around," he muttered.

"Hopefully never again," Harry spat.

Louis walked out into the hallway, the door to Harry's apartment slamming shut, leaving Louis out alone in the hallway. He didn't know how he was going to go about avoiding the paparazzi. He didn't want them to see him and he didn't want to give them a quote because Harry was expecting him to do that. Standing there, Louis tried to think of a plan and after a few minutes, the light bulb suddenly went off. If Harry was going to play dirty, Louis could play dirtier.

He painted an overly ecstatic smile onto his face and made his way down to the lobby. The guy behind the desk looked at him but didn't say anything. Louis spotted a group of photographers waiting on the sidewalk outside the entrance to the apartment building, mingling and waiting for either Harry or himself to walk out. With a deep breath in preparation, Louis emerged himself outside, the crowd of photographers swarming him like flies on shit.

The photographers were peppering him with questions as he walked down the sidewalk. They thought that he was ignoring them like he usually tried to do, but he was actually putting together what little statement he was going to say. He wanted to make sure that it would hit Harry - make him realize that Louis wasn't giving up on him just yet.

"Alright, alright, calm down," Louis told the crowd. "To answer the ultimate question: yes, I just spent a few days with the lovely Harry Styles. It was more of a spontaneous visit - surprising him in his apartment and such yesterday. Had a really lovely time - if you catch my drift."

"Tell us more details!" one photog yelled.

"Book me an interview with Grimmy and we'll go from there," he winked and continued on his way, hoping that a cabbie would be quick to pull over so he wouldn't have to deal with the twats any longer.

The smile on his face was now genuine. It was mostly because he was going to get more people talking - maybe even get an interview out of the deal. Louis was not going to back down as easily as Harry thought he was going to. He was determined. When Louis Tomlinson was determined,  _nothing_ got in his way of getting what he wanted.

Louis always got what he wanted.

\----

"What is this? You want an interview with Nick Grimshaw? Louis, you haven't come out with anything in ages. He's not going to randomly book you for nothing," Kyle tried to argue. Louis was getting fed up with him. The only reason that he was in London was because both Justin and Grace had went against him and basically told Kyle that his plan was ridiculous and flopping - which, of course, was only slightly true, but Louis knew that it was going to end up working in the end. That is, if Kyle would keep his ass out of it.

"You do realize that actors and singers and shit can go on interviews if they haven't released anything, yeah? I wouldn't be the first to do it," Louis sassed.

"That isn't the point. The only thing that you have been in the press for, other than your run-ins with the law, is this Harry fellow and how there might be a relationship there. If you go on an interview and that is the only reason, people are not going to buy whatever you're trying to sell," Kyle explained harshly. "Do you hear what I'm saying? I specialize in this. I know what I'm doing."

Louis felt his blood boil. If there was one thing that he hated, it was when people tried to boss him around or tell him that his idea or strategy was bogus and that he didn't know what he was doing. Sure, he wasn't completely sure on how the whole beard situations worked, but he was confident enough to be able to figure it out. He was going to do it his own way - definitely something that Kyle or any manager would despise.

"Fine, if you're going to be a dick about it, let's make something. An announcement of sorts - something to do with my career," Louis spat.

Kyle stood there, his eyebrow quirked. "An announcement about your career? What, are you retiring? Nobody has offered you any roles."

"You think I didn't know that? You're my manager," Louis deadpanned.

Kyle sighed, obviously annoyed at Louis' commentary. "Jesus Christ, Louis. If you weren't such a nincompoop, maybe you would have work to do."

"Don't fucking blame this on me, you fucking twat! You wouldn't know how to do your job if your supervisor came up and smacked you alongside the head," Louis insulted. "But, if you're all-knowing, what the hell do you think that I should do?"

"I was asking you. I can't get you a role with this short of notice," Kyle scoffed.

"You're such a great agent, Kyle. God, I don't know what I would do without you," Louis sassed. He took a minute to think of an actual good idea. "I'll announce that I'm releasing a single."

Kyle looked at him for a moment before bursting out into hysterics. "You're going to announce a single? As in, a song? Lou, I thought you had foolish ideas before, but this...this tops all of them. You can't sing!"

Louis was so close to erupting and telling the man where to go. "And how would you know? You've never heard me sing a note in your life. I can harmonize like an angel."

"Yeah? That's why your a washed up child actor," Kyle doubted.

Louis cleared his throat, getting the words to his favorite song from The Fray. "If I don't say this now, I will surely break as I'm leaving the one I want to take. Forgive the urgency, but hurry up and wait my heart has started to separate."

Kyle just stood there, obviously trying to chortle back a laugh. "Nothing autotune couldn't fix."

Louis stood up, annoyed with Kyle's sarcasm. Louis went up to him, getting in his face as he poked his finger against his chest. "I am fed up with you constantly insulting me and the things that I do. No matter how many times you try to deny the fact that you're a shitty agent, it will never change. I haven't had a gig on fucking anything for how many years all because of your lazy ass. So, I suggest that you fucking arrange for an interview on Nick Grimshaw's breakfast show and recording session at a studio or I will file a lawsuit against you. You work for me, you no good twat. Is that clear?"

Kyle looked genuinely feared and intimidated as he frantically nodded at Louis' threat, which made him feel good about himself. Little did Kyle know that Louis was beginning the hunt for a new agent - one that would actually give half a shit about him and his career. He wasn't going to be remembered as the child star that was forced to retire because his agent was shit. That was not the legacy that Louis "The Tommo" Tomlinson was going to leave behind.

\----

"What the hell am I supposed to do, Ellie?!" Harry asked, panic threaded into his voice. He was nearly having a panic attack - something that he hadn't had in ages.

"You don't have to do anything, Harry. Just calm down," Ellie coached, seeing that Harry was trying to refrain from hyperventilating. "We'll talk to BBC and make sure that Nick doesn't invite him or agree to have him on the show. That way, he can't broadcast anything. We'll have a word with his managers and warn him to stop. If he doesn't, we're going to have to press legal charges. That's the last resort, but it will happen if it comes down to it. I promise you, Harry, he will not spread this kind of shit about you ever again once we're done with him."

"I don't care about the rumors as much as I do the fact that he was sitting in my apartment when I hadn't gotten home! He's stalking me, Ellie - where I go, what I do," Harry sobbed.

Ellie got up from behind her desk and grabbed Harry up in her arms, giving him a comforting embrace as his panic attack played out. He thought that Louis was just a nuisance at first, but the fact that he was stating these delusional rumors, finding out where Harry lived, where he went for work, and wanting to go onto the UK's most notable talk show to talk about this fake relationship they were having? That was pushing it too far into the creepy zone for Harry. He just wanted to go back to flying under the radar with Louis Tomlinson trying to force him into fame.

"I was going to surprise you with this, but I feel now would be the perfect time. Marie Claire wants to feature you in their up and coming models section in Spain. I scheduled it for two weeks, but I can call and have it moved. They are more than willing to be flexible for you if needed," Ellie told him.

Harry looked up at her, his green eyes glistening with tears. "Marie Claire? You can't move that. That is the big snap that I've been waiting for. Don't reschedule. You can't. I'll be fine. I won't let Louis ruin this."

"Are you sure? They honestly wouldn't be bothered if you wanted to move it," Ellie asked again. "I just want you to be on top of your game and not having to worry about Louis."

"He won't even be a memory in my brain," Harry reassured her. He wasn't going to pass up an opportunity that would make his work even more known in the world.

"Alright, if you're sure," Ellie agreed, going back behind her desk to jot things down. "But until we figure this thing out with Louis, I suggest you stay somewhere else that Louis wouldn't be able to find. Do you have a place?"

Harry thought for a minute. He was ready to say Liam, but he was all the way back in Cheshire. "I can arrange something with Kendall and then I might just go visit Liam the week before we go to Spain."

"Whatever works for you. But if you're leaving London, be sure to let me know," Ellie smiled and then went back over to Harry, giving him another big hug. "I'll keep you updated on what's happening. We'll get this taken care of, sweetie."

Harry hoped she was right. He grabbed his things, bidding Ellie goodbye, and proceeded to leave the building. His Uber driver was parked out front, reading a book. He quickly ran over to the car and got in, dialing Kendall as soon as his safety belt was fastened.

"I may need to keep you for a bit longer," Harry told him as the dial tone played through his ear. The driver nodded and took off in the direction of Harry's apartment building, which was thankfully, a ways from the agency.

_"Hey, Harry,"_ Kendall answered finally, clearly eating something.

"I have a huge favor to ask you," he started off.

_"No, I will not be your beard, Harry. You already came out as gay, so why are you going to go through all that work just to be pushed back into your stylish closet?"_  Kendall interrupted.

"I'm not pushing myself back into the closet because of that dolt. I need a place to stay for a week or so and I was wondering if it's alright I stay with you?" Harry asked, hoping that she wouldn't question it. But he knew Kendall too well.

_"I'd be more than happy to have you stay here, H, but why? I know we live rather far apart, but it's not even a fifteen minute ride across the city,"_ Kendall countered.

"I'll explain to you later. It's for legal purposes," he summarized. "Please? I'm going back to Cheshire to visit mum and Liam after the week's done."

_"Alright, that's perfectly fine. I might not be back when you get there because I'm out with Gigi getting fro-yo, but you have the key. Just make yourself comfortable,"_  she told him.

"Thank you so much, Kendall," Harry gushed, so thankful that he had a friend like Kendall to help him when he needed it.

The whole ride back to his apartment, Harry bouncing his knee up and down. He felt like a fugitive or something to the effect. He felt like he was going to be a burden to Kendall, but at the same time, he wasn't sure what more he could do. As much as he wanted to go back home again, he didn't want to take that long of journey again. Not only that, but there were things that were going on in London that he didn't want to miss - like a fashion show that Kendall was walking in and just being around his friends.

Once the Uber driver pulled up in front of his building, Harry leaned forward to let the driver in on the change in plans. "I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to need to expand the trip with you."

The man looked down at the time and nodded. "Yeah, I've got about an hour and a half."

"Oh, thank you! I'm going to take about fifteen minutes to gather my things and then I'll need you to take me across the city," he told him.

"Alright. Don't hurry yourself. I'll be down here waiting," the man smiled.

Harry thanked him and rushed up to his apartment, making mental notes of things that he wanted to take with him. As far as efficiently packing goes, Harry was damn near a pro. He never used to be, but now that his job required him to travel quite a bit, he learned what the essentials were. It wasn't like he would pack everything but the kitchen sink, but he used to overpack clothes. Now he had everything planned out, especially since his 'casual' style was also considered to be dressy.

He threw open his closet and quickly grabbed out his suitcase, grabbing out his most commonly worn shirts and folded them up. Thankfully, his Chelsea boots matched with pretty much everything that he had in his closet. He quickly went into the bathroom and basically scooped everything that was on his counter into his bathroom bag. It surprisingly didn't take as long as Harry originally thought that it would to gather everything together. The windows and everything were shut tight, making the apartment dark as night. It looked so depressing when it was normally so peaceful and calming. Harry shut the lights off and went into the hallway, setting his bags down so he could lock the door up nice and tight so Louis wouldn't be able to get in. He made himself a mental note to call Wade so the lock could be changed.

"Another trip already?" Tucker asked, not taking his eyes from his magazine.

"I guess that's what you'd call it. Just staying with a few friends in Watford," he shrugged, hoping that his lie was believable enough.

"Sounds fun," Tucker nodded. "See you 'round."

"Bye, Tucker," Harry said before running back out to the Uber.

The photographers were gone, thankfully. He figured it was because they were to enthralled with whatever shit Louis was strewing up. While it meant that there would be trouble for Harry eventually, it also meant that it would be easier for Harry to leave and go to Kendall's without being detected. He could only hope that the paparazzi didn't have her on their radar for the time being.

He gave the Uber driver the address, not telling him who it was. Not that he thought that the middle aged man would give a shit that he was friends with Kendall Jenner, but he couldn't be too sure. He didn't want to chance it. Louis couldn't know where he was because he wanted to stay away from him for the rest of his life if he could.

\----

Harry was startled from his nap by the sound of Kendall's laugh and the door shutting. He quickly wiped his face and sat up on the couch, running his hands through his hair so it didn't look like he had just woken up. It sounded like Kendall was alone, talking on the phone - most likely to one of her sisters. He was hoping that none of them would decide to pay her a visit while he was staying there. The only two that he would be to tolerate would be Kourtney or Kylie. They were the least dramatic to him.

Kendall walked in the room, nearly falling off her wedges when she noticed Harry sitting on the couch. He gave her a quick smile and she responded with a small laugh.

"I'll talk to you later, okay? Harry's here," Kendall told whoever was on the other line. 'Alright. Talk to you soon. Bye, babe."

"Who was that?" Harry asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"It was my sister, you sicko," Kendall laughed. "How long have you been here? Did you have any problems getting in?"

"I haven't been here long. I've just been watching...this," Harry told her, gesturing to the television set.

Kendall cocked her head to the side. "Mhm, that's why you look like you just woke up."

"I was not!" Harry argued, a smile gracing his face.

She just laughed and offered out her hand to help Harry stand up. "So, I suppose I should show you to where you're going to be sleeping for the next week."

Harry bent over and grabbed his things, following Kendall through the white French doors. The guest room was the most lavish that Harry had seen - it was almost as fancy as a master bedroom. He set his things down on the black ottoman and looked around at the room. He loved the color scheme - black with yellow accents.

"Sorry about the decor...Kylie insisted that it look like a goth sunflower," Kendall giggled.

"I think it looks nice. Different than normal decor," Harry complimented, not having a problem with what the place looked like.

"So, may I ask you why you're staying here?" Kendall blurted out, plotting herself down in the butterfly chair by the window.

Harry walked over and sat on the side of the bed, mentally scolding himself for messing up the perfectly made sheets. "Well, I went to talk to Ellie about what is happening with Louis. He wants to have an interview with Nick Grimshaw about our supposed relationship. Not to mention that he broke into my apartment when I decided to go out to get my morning Starbucks, which he also talked to Zoey the barista about giving me two coffees rather than one."

Kendall was looking at Harry with her mouth slightly agape. "My God, that man is delusional. And I'm assuming that Ellie told you to go somewhere where he wouldn't be able to find you?"

"That's exactly what she told me to do. I thought that your place was the easiest because it was still in London and you would know what to do," Harry admitted.

"I can try my best to help you out. Do you know if he knows about our friendship? Like, where I live?" she wondered.

"I'm sure he's aware of our friendship. But I don't think that he knows where you live. Unless you told Justin Bieber," Harry told her.

"No, I didn't. The only ones that know I live here are my family, Cara, Gigi, Selena, and the rest of the squad that I know for sure that I can trust. You, Gigi, Cara, and Kylie are the only ones that have a key to the place," Kendall told him. "I always make Uber drivers drop me off a block away in front of the penthouse living complex so they don't catch on to where I actually live."

"I told Tucker that I was going to Watford with a few friends from home, so if Louis were to show up, he would be led astray. I just want this all to end," Harry said, slumping as the words left his mouth.

Kendall stood up and went over to Harry, taking a seat next to him on the bed. She grabbed his hand in both of hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I promise you that I will not let Louis Tomlinson try and weasel himself in your life anymore. As long as your here, he's not going to be able to get in. Everything will be okay."

He hoped that she was right. He wanted these next two weeks to go by without Louis interrupting it. Hopefully, this would be the start of getting his life back to the way it was, if not better.

\----


	9. Chapter 9

"Louis Tomlinson, who the hell is the source that supposedly leaked something to the media?!"

Louis' eyes shot open as the familiar and sexy voice radiated throughout the apartment along with the slamming of the front door. He had been dozed off and didn't even realize that Harry had left, but obviously, he had. Louis got out of bed just as the door opened with an infuriated Harry storming through it. While it was apparent that he was trying to look pissed off and mad, he really just looked like an upset baby kitten.

"I knew you'd be begging for more, Princess," Louis smirked, trying to show Harry that he wasn't afraid of him.

"Oh, shut the fuck up, you hunk of pig shit. Who the hell said this bullshit to the paps?! Was it you?! It was you, wasn't it!" Harry accused.

"What are you talking about? I didn't say anything to those fuckers," Louis grimaced, putting his acting skills to good use.

"You are so full of shit. You expect me to believe that you didn't say anything before you magically show up in my apartment, which I still don't understand how you even got in here by the way," Harry fumed.

"I'm telling you that I didn't say anything. Why would I want to be in the tabloids known as the one that you hurt? I don't like it just as much as you," Louis scoffed, impressing himself with how convincing he was. "The paparazzi has never been on my side, let alone listened to what I had to say. What makes you think that they would start now?"

"I don't know, because you're painted as the victim? A twist in the story that is Louis Tomlinson, child star gone rogue?! I want you to get out of my fucking apartment!" Harry commanded.

Louis put his arms up in surrender. "Woah, woah. No need to be hasty. I promise you that it wasn't me."

"You really expect me to trust you?" Harry asked, quirking his eyebrow. "You have five minutes to get your rubbish and leave."

"Harry, you can't just kick me out. I have nowhere to go and there's a hoard of paps out there. That's like throwing me into the wolfpit. Also, it's not going to do you any good if you do that," Louis said cautiously, as if Harry was holding him at gunpoint like a crazy girlfriend. "Please, Harry."

"I know what you're doing, Louis. You're just telling me that because you're of the thinking that I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep my reputation pure. It's not going to happen, so go out the back fucking door and never ever come back here," Harry hissed angrily. "There's a back door. I suggest you find it."

"Ha-"

"If you don't leave now, I won't hesitate to call the police. Wouldn't want that now, would we?" Harry said with a maniacal smirk on his face.

Louis didn't try to fight it anymore because he knew that he wasn't going to get anywhere with it. Instead he went over to the other side of the couch and grabbed his overnight bag. He walked to the door and turned to face Harry, sad that the boy that he actually did feel a little something for was kicking him out.

"See you around," he muttered.

"Hopefully never again," Harry spat.

Louis walked out into the hallway, the door to Harry's apartment slamming shut, leaving Louis out alone in the hallway. He didn't know how he was going to go about avoiding the paparazzi. He didn't want them to see him and he didn't want to give them a quote because Harry was expecting him to do that. Standing there, Louis tried to think of a plan and after a few minutes, the light bulb suddenly went off. If Harry was going to play dirty, Louis could play dirtier.

He painted an overly ecstatic smile onto his face and made his way down to the lobby. The guy behind the desk looked at him but didn't say anything. Louis spotted a group of photographers waiting on the sidewalk outside the entrance to the apartment building, mingling and waiting for either Harry or himself to walk out. With a deep breath in preparation, Louis emerged himself outside, the crowd of photographers swarming him like flies on shit.

The photographers were peppering him with questions as he walked down the sidewalk. They thought that he was ignoring them like he usually tried to do, but he was actually putting together what little statement he was going to say. He wanted to make sure that it would hit Harry - make him realize that Louis wasn't giving up on him just yet.

"Alright, alright, calm down," Louis told the crowd. "To answer the ultimate question: yes, I just spent a few days with the lovely Harry Styles. It was more of a spontaneous visit - surprising him in his apartment and such yesterday. Had a really lovely time - if you catch my drift."

"Tell us more details!" one photog yelled.

"Book me an interview with Grimmy and we'll go from there," he winked and continued on his way, hoping that a cabbie would be quick to pull over so he wouldn't have to deal with the twats any longer.

The smile on his face was now genuine. It was mostly because he was going to get more people talking - maybe even get an interview out of the deal. Louis was not going to back down as easily as Harry thought he was going to. He was determined. When Louis Tomlinson was determined,  _nothing_ got in his way of getting what he wanted.

Louis always got what he wanted.

\----

"What is this? You want an interview with Nick Grimshaw? Louis, you haven't come out with anything in ages. He's not going to randomly book you for nothing," Kyle tried to argue. Louis was getting fed up with him. The only reason that he was in London was because both Justin and Grace had went against him and basically told Kyle that his plan was ridiculous and flopping - which, of course, was only slightly true, but Louis knew that it was going to end up working in the end. That is, if Kyle would keep his ass out of it.

"You do realize that actors and singers and shit can go on interviews if they haven't released anything, yeah? I wouldn't be the first to do it," Louis sassed.

"That isn't the point. The only thing that you have been in the press for, other than your run-ins with the law, is this Harry fellow and how there might be a relationship there. If you go on an interview and that is the only reason, people are not going to buy whatever you're trying to sell," Kyle explained harshly. "Do you hear what I'm saying? I specialize in this. I know what I'm doing."

Louis felt his blood boil. If there was one thing that he hated, it was when people tried to boss him around or tell him that his idea or strategy was bogus and that he didn't know what he was doing. Sure, he wasn't completely sure on how the whole beard situations worked, but he was confident enough to be able to figure it out. He was going to do it his own way - definitely something that Kyle or any manager would despise.

"Fine, if you're going to be a dick about it, let's make something. An announcement of sorts - something to do with my career," Louis spat.

Kyle stood there, his eyebrow quirked. "An announcement about your career? What, are you retiring? Nobody has offered you any roles."

"You think I didn't know that? You're my manager," Louis deadpanned.

Kyle sighed, obviously annoyed at Louis' commentary. "Jesus Christ, Louis. If you weren't such a nincompoop, maybe you would have work to do."

"Don't fucking blame this on me, you fucking twat! You wouldn't know how to do your job if your supervisor came up and smacked you alongside the head," Louis insulted. "But, if you're all-knowing, what the hell do you think that I should do?"

"I was asking you. I can't get you a role with this short of notice," Kyle scoffed.

"You're such a great agent, Kyle. God, I don't know what I would do without you," Louis sassed. He took a minute to think of an actual good idea. "I'll announce that I'm releasing a single."

Kyle looked at him for a moment before bursting out into hysterics. "You're going to announce a single? As in, a song? Lou, I thought you had foolish ideas before, but this...this tops all of them. You can't sing!"

Louis was so close to erupting and telling the man where to go. "And how would you know? You've never heard me sing a note in your life. I can harmonize like an angel."

"Yeah? That's why your a washed up child actor," Kyle doubted.

Louis cleared his throat, getting the words to his favorite song from The Fray. "If I don't say this now, I will surely break as I'm leaving the one I want to take. Forgive the urgency, but hurry up and wait my heart has started to separate."

Kyle just stood there, obviously trying to chortle back a laugh. "Nothing autotune couldn't fix."

Louis stood up, annoyed with Kyle's sarcasm. Louis went up to him, getting in his face as he poked his finger against his chest. "I am fed up with you constantly insulting me and the things that I do. No matter how many times you try to deny the fact that you're a shitty agent, it will never change. I haven't had a gig on fucking anything for how many years all because of your lazy ass. So, I suggest that you fucking arrange for an interview on Nick Grimshaw's breakfast show and recording session at a studio or I will file a lawsuit against you. You work for me, you no good twat. Is that clear?"

Kyle looked genuinely feared and intimidated as he frantically nodded at Louis' threat, which made him feel good about himself. Little did Kyle know that Louis was beginning the hunt for a new agent - one that would actually give half a shit about him and his career. He wasn't going to be remembered as the child star that was forced to retire because his agent was shit. That was not the legacy that Louis "The Tommo" Tomlinson was going to leave behind.

\----

"What the hell am I supposed to do, Ellie?!" Harry asked, panic threaded into his voice. He was nearly having a panic attack - something that he hadn't had in ages.

"You don't have to do anything, Harry. Just calm down," Ellie coached, seeing that Harry was trying to refrain from hyperventilating. "We'll talk to BBC and make sure that Nick doesn't invite him or agree to have him on the show. That way, he can't broadcast anything. We'll have a word with his managers and warn him to stop. If he doesn't, we're going to have to press legal charges. That's the last resort, but it will happen if it comes down to it. I promise you, Harry, he will not spread this kind of shit about you ever again once we're done with him."

"I don't care about the rumors as much as I do the fact that he was sitting in my apartment when I hadn't gotten home! He's stalking me, Ellie - where I go, what I do," Harry sobbed.

Ellie got up from behind her desk and grabbed Harry up in her arms, giving him a comforting embrace as his panic attack played out. He thought that Louis was just a nuisance at first, but the fact that he was stating these delusional rumors, finding out where Harry lived, where he went for work, and wanting to go onto the UK's most notable talk show to talk about this fake relationship they were having? That was pushing it too far into the creepy zone for Harry. He just wanted to go back to flying under the radar with Louis Tomlinson trying to force him into fame.

"I was going to surprise you with this, but I feel now would be the perfect time. Marie Claire wants to feature you in their up and coming models section in Spain. I scheduled it for two weeks, but I can call and have it moved. They are more than willing to be flexible for you if needed," Ellie told him.

Harry looked up at her, his green eyes glistening with tears. "Marie Claire? You can't move that. That is the big snap that I've been waiting for. Don't reschedule. You can't. I'll be fine. I won't let Louis ruin this."

"Are you sure? They honestly wouldn't be bothered if you wanted to move it," Ellie asked again. "I just want you to be on top of your game and not having to worry about Louis."

"He won't even be a memory in my brain," Harry reassured her. He wasn't going to pass up an opportunity that would make his work even more known in the world.

"Alright, if you're sure," Ellie agreed, going back behind her desk to jot things down. "But until we figure this thing out with Louis, I suggest you stay somewhere else that Louis wouldn't be able to find. Do you have a place?"

Harry thought for a minute. He was ready to say Liam, but he was all the way back in Cheshire. "I can arrange something with Kendall and then I might just go visit Liam the week before we go to Spain."

"Whatever works for you. But if you're leaving London, be sure to let me know," Ellie smiled and then went back over to Harry, giving him another big hug. "I'll keep you updated on what's happening. We'll get this taken care of, sweetie."

Harry hoped she was right. He grabbed his things, bidding Ellie goodbye, and proceeded to leave the building. His Uber driver was parked out front, reading a book. He quickly ran over to the car and got in, dialing Kendall as soon as his safety belt was fastened.

"I may need to keep you for a bit longer," Harry told him as the dial tone played through his ear. The driver nodded and took off in the direction of Harry's apartment building, which was thankfully, a ways from the agency.

_"Hey, Harry,"_ Kendall answered finally, clearly eating something.

"I have a huge favor to ask you," he started off.

_"No, I will not be your beard, Harry. You already came out as gay, so why are you going to go through all that work just to be pushed back into your stylish closet?"_  Kendall interrupted.

"I'm not pushing myself back into the closet because of that dolt. I need a place to stay for a week or so and I was wondering if it's alright I stay with you?" Harry asked, hoping that she wouldn't question it. But he knew Kendall too well.

_"I'd be more than happy to have you stay here, H, but why? I know we live rather far apart, but it's not even a fifteen minute ride across the city,"_ Kendall countered.

"I'll explain to you later. It's for legal purposes," he summarized. "Please? I'm going back to Cheshire to visit mum and Liam after the week's done."

_"Alright, that's perfectly fine. I might not be back when you get there because I'm out with Gigi getting fro-yo, but you have the key. Just make yourself comfortable,"_  she told him.

"Thank you so much, Kendall," Harry gushed, so thankful that he had a friend like Kendall to help him when he needed it.

The whole ride back to his apartment, Harry bouncing his knee up and down. He felt like a fugitive or something to the effect. He felt like he was going to be a burden to Kendall, but at the same time, he wasn't sure what more he could do. As much as he wanted to go back home again, he didn't want to take that long of journey again. Not only that, but there were things that were going on in London that he didn't want to miss - like a fashion show that Kendall was walking in and just being around his friends.

Once the Uber driver pulled up in front of his building, Harry leaned forward to let the driver in on the change in plans. "I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to need to expand the trip with you."

The man looked down at the time and nodded. "Yeah, I've got about an hour and a half."

"Oh, thank you! I'm going to take about fifteen minutes to gather my things and then I'll need you to take me across the city," he told him.

"Alright. Don't hurry yourself. I'll be down here waiting," the man smiled.

Harry thanked him and rushed up to his apartment, making mental notes of things that he wanted to take with him. As far as efficiently packing goes, Harry was damn near a pro. He never used to be, but now that his job required him to travel quite a bit, he learned what the essentials were. It wasn't like he would pack everything but the kitchen sink, but he used to overpack clothes. Now he had everything planned out, especially since his 'casual' style was also considered to be dressy.

He threw open his closet and quickly grabbed out his suitcase, grabbing out his most commonly worn shirts and folded them up. Thankfully, his Chelsea boots matched with pretty much everything that he had in his closet. He quickly went into the bathroom and basically scooped everything that was on his counter into his bathroom bag. It surprisingly didn't take as long as Harry originally thought that it would to gather everything together. The windows and everything were shut tight, making the apartment dark as night. It looked so depressing when it was normally so peaceful and calming. Harry shut the lights off and went into the hallway, setting his bags down so he could lock the door up nice and tight so Louis wouldn't be able to get in. He made himself a mental note to call Wade so the lock could be changed.

"Another trip already?" Tucker asked, not taking his eyes from his magazine.

"I guess that's what you'd call it. Just staying with a few friends in Watford," he shrugged, hoping that his lie was believable enough.

"Sounds fun," Tucker nodded. "See you 'round."

"Bye, Tucker," Harry said before running back out to the Uber.

The photographers were gone, thankfully. He figured it was because they were to enthralled with whatever shit Louis was strewing up. While it meant that there would be trouble for Harry eventually, it also meant that it would be easier for Harry to leave and go to Kendall's without being detected. He could only hope that the paparazzi didn't have her on their radar for the time being.

He gave the Uber driver the address, not telling him who it was. Not that he thought that the middle aged man would give a shit that he was friends with Kendall Jenner, but he couldn't be too sure. He didn't want to chance it. Louis couldn't know where he was because he wanted to stay away from him for the rest of his life if he could.

\----

Harry was startled from his nap by the sound of Kendall's laugh and the door shutting. He quickly wiped his face and sat up on the couch, running his hands through his hair so it didn't look like he had just woken up. It sounded like Kendall was alone, talking on the phone - most likely to one of her sisters. He was hoping that none of them would decide to pay her a visit while he was staying there. The only two that he would be to tolerate would be Kourtney or Kylie. They were the least dramatic to him.

Kendall walked in the room, nearly falling off her wedges when she noticed Harry sitting on the couch. He gave her a quick smile and she responded with a small laugh.

"I'll talk to you later, okay? Harry's here," Kendall told whoever was on the other line. 'Alright. Talk to you soon. Bye, babe."

"Who was that?" Harry asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"It was my sister, you sicko," Kendall laughed. "How long have you been here? Did you have any problems getting in?"

"I haven't been here long. I've just been watching...this," Harry told her, gesturing to the television set.

Kendall cocked her head to the side. "Mhm, that's why you look like you just woke up."

"I was not!" Harry argued, a smile gracing his face.

She just laughed and offered out her hand to help Harry stand up. "So, I suppose I should show you to where you're going to be sleeping for the next week."

Harry bent over and grabbed his things, following Kendall through the white French doors. The guest room was the most lavish that Harry had seen - it was almost as fancy as a master bedroom. He set his things down on the black ottoman and looked around at the room. He loved the color scheme - black with yellow accents.

"Sorry about the decor...Kylie insisted that it look like a goth sunflower," Kendall giggled.

"I think it looks nice. Different than normal decor," Harry complimented, not having a problem with what the place looked like.

"So, may I ask you why you're staying here?" Kendall blurted out, plotting herself down in the butterfly chair by the window.

Harry walked over and sat on the side of the bed, mentally scolding himself for messing up the perfectly made sheets. "Well, I went to talk to Ellie about what is happening with Louis. He wants to have an interview with Nick Grimshaw about our supposed relationship. Not to mention that he broke into my apartment when I decided to go out to get my morning Starbucks, which he also talked to Zoey the barista about giving me two coffees rather than one."

Kendall was looking at Harry with her mouth slightly agape. "My God, that man is delusional. And I'm assuming that Ellie told you to go somewhere where he wouldn't be able to find you?"

"That's exactly what she told me to do. I thought that your place was the easiest because it was still in London and you would know what to do," Harry admitted.

"I can try my best to help you out. Do you know if he knows about our friendship? Like, where I live?" she wondered.

"I'm sure he's aware of our friendship. But I don't think that he knows where you live. Unless you told Justin Bieber," Harry told her.

"No, I didn't. The only ones that know I live here are my family, Cara, Gigi, Selena, and the rest of the squad that I know for sure that I can trust. You, Gigi, Cara, and Kylie are the only ones that have a key to the place," Kendall told him. "I always make Uber drivers drop me off a block away in front of the penthouse living complex so they don't catch on to where I actually live."

"I told Tucker that I was going to Watford with a few friends from home, so if Louis were to show up, he would be led astray. I just want this all to end," Harry said, slumping as the words left his mouth.

Kendall stood up and went over to Harry, taking a seat next to him on the bed. She grabbed his hand in both of hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I promise you that I will not let Louis Tomlinson try and weasel himself in your life anymore. As long as your here, he's not going to be able to get in. Everything will be okay."

He hoped that she was right. He wanted these next two weeks to go by without Louis interrupting it. Hopefully, this would be the start of getting his life back to the way it was, if not better.

\----


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **For the picture that's included in here, picture Harry with his long hair. :)

"Welcome back to the Breakfast Show. If you're just tuning in, I'm here with actor Louis Tomlinson and he is just about to tell us his major announcement that we've been waiting for all morning," Nick said as soon as the On Air sign came back on. His eyes flicked to Louis'. "The floor is yours, Tommo."

"I feel like there is so much pressure on me," Louis laughed. "I came on the show today to announce that I'm going to be releasing my debut album and I believe that my dear manager has the first single here today."

"Does he now?! This isn't at all what I was expecting. Do we have the track?!" Nick asked, excited. He saw one of the radio people give him a thumbs up and Louis watched as Nick nearly shit his pants. "We do! Here it is, folks. Louis Tomlinson's first single from his debut album..."

"Miss You," Louis piped in, smiling.

The sign went off and Nick cranked up the volume on the boombox next to him so he could listen to it. Louis laughed as he did so because he had never seen someone so excited over a song. For just recording not even five days prior, he wasn't at all unhappy with how it turned out. It was weird to hear his voice across the desk from him, but what made it less weird was that everyone around him (other than Kyle) was enjoying it. That made him feel like his impulsive decision was a good one.

"So, only you and your team were the first ones to hear this song?" Nick asked.

"Yep. Haven't showed it to anyone else. Trust me, it was quite hard not to show it to some," Louis chuckled.

"Would that some be who the song is about?" Nick smirked.

"Maybe, maybe," Louis laughed.

"Speaking of,  _who_ is it about? Who's the lucky one that has the one and only Louis Tomlinson pining after them?" he asked.

Louis was about to say Harry's name, but then saw Kyle and one of the BBC crew mouthing not to say Harry's name. He didn't know why, but he wasn't going to deal with the repercussions from Kyle. "That would take away the mystery of it, now wouldn't it?"

Nick's eyebrows raised. "So, you're saying that it might be about a certain little curly haired brunette model you've been seen around with?"

Louis caught Kyle in the corner of his eye, making all these hand gestures. "A curly haired brunette, eh? Sounds like he'd be my type. Anywho, the person that this is about, if they are listening, I want them to know that I am serious about them. They don't think so, which has led to some feuding, but I am. I'm ready to shed this party animal lifestyle and settle down with the person that I love the most."

"That was really touching, Louis. You're really serious about this person, yeah?" Nick asked, looking genuinely interested.

"I'd say so, yeah. We haven't been in cahoots for very long, but I am serious about being in a long lasting relationship and creating a future with him. He's a very sweet guy, definitely someone that is a relationship type of person. I have a feeling that with someone like him in my life, it will be easier for me to keep from falling back into my bad habits," Louis continued, smiling as he thought of Harry's sweet smile. He knew that the kid had a heart. And he also knew that he was probably listening to the interview, so hopefully, Louis was pulling enough heart strings to make Harry have a change of heart and think differently of Louis. Hell, maybe he would even agree to be his beard if he played the cards right.

\----

"So, he's basically saying that he isn't harassing you," Liam stated. "He's serious about you, H."

"And I'm serious about him being a complete idiot that's faking it," Harry retorted.

"How do you know? Maybe he's being real," Liam continued.

Harry looked at him in disbelief. Out of all people to fall for Louis' bullshit, Liam was the last one that Harry suspected. "Because he's bringing it into the media way too much."

"That's not all true. You did meet Justin at that club when we were in Ireland. That's where you two met and then you slept with him. I'm pretty sure he didn't do that for the media," Liam pointed out. "Maybe he's that guy that can't get over his one night stand."

"Louis Tomlinson being hung up over a one night stand? Doubt it," Harry snorted. Louis Tomlinson was known as a party animal that slept with people left and right. What would make him the exception?

"You never know, H. You might be pushing your soulmate away," Liam smirked, knowing sure as hell he was getting under Harry's skin.

"Absolutely not. This whole interview he's doing? It's only PR. That song isn't about me - he's making it seem like it is," Harry explained to him.

Louis' voice came back through the speakers and Harry quickly turned it off. He couldn't stand to hear his voice anymore. It just pissed him off. Not to mention Liam was making him even more aggravated. There was no way that Louis saw him as anymore than a PR accessory. Or did he? At first, maybe he didn't. But he quickly found out that he did.

As he got up to go into his room and finish packing his suitcases, his phone began vibrating. He took it from his pocket and looked to see what it was that was notifying him. His face twisted into a look of disgust when he saw that it was a Twitter DM from none other than Louis himself.

**@Louis_Tomlinson: i know you're avoiding me but i hope you liked the song and my little speech about you. :) x**

Instead of feeling the warm fuzzies that any normal person would, Harry was annoyed. He wanted to launch his phone at the wall and watch it shatter, thinking that it would automatically make Louis disappear. The whole situation upset Harry so much because just when he thought that he was free from it, he would get suckled right back in. Louis was that little gnat that wouldn't go away, no matter how much pesticides were used. It was getting to the point that Harry just wanted to throw in the towel and quit modelling until Louis forgot his very existence.

"Harry, are you okay?" Niall asked, appearing in the doorway of his room, a concerned expression on his face.

Harry figured that the Irishman was probably confused considering that he had just gotten home and had found his boyfriend's best friend crying on the floor of his bedroom. "I'm fine. Just frustrated."

"Do you need to talk about it? I know that we don't know each other that well, but any friend of Liam's is a friend of mine. I'll lend a shoulder if you need," Niall offered, his deep blue eyes filling with both sympathy and empathy.

Harry shook his head. "No, it's alright. I'll be okay. Just one of those things that has gotten me to my wit's end."

Niall nodded simply. "Okay. Both Liam and I are here if you need to talk."

"Thanks, Niall," Harry said with a weak smile.

He left the doorway and Harry continued to sit there, not wanting to move. He glanced back down at his phone, the DM still up. While Louis was a royal pest that enjoyed getting a rise out of Harry, the DM actually felt genuine. What if Liam had been right? Maybe Louis was serious in the interview. Maybe all that he had said had been true. If Louis was looking to just use Harry for publicity, would he have willingly slept with him that first night? Maybe the whole shebacle in Dublin hadn't had anything to do with paparazzi. Maybe Louis was sincere. Maybe Harry was the one night stand that the one and only Louis Tomlinson couldn't move past.

There was only one way to find out and Harry was determined to get to the bottom of it. He exited Twitter and went into his contacts, finding Justin's. Being that he and Louis were best friends, Justin would surely know.

_"Hey, Harry. What a surprise,"_ Justin answered, sounding groggy.

"Hey, Justin," Harry responded. "I hope I'm not bothering or interrupting your day or anything."

_"No, no, you're good. I just got ready to hop in bed,"_ Justin answered.  _"What's up? Is Louis behaving himself?"_

"That's actually who I'm calling about," Harry trailed.

_"Ah, shit. What'd the idiot do now?"_ Justin asked, sounding like this wasn't the first time someone had called him about Louis. Not that that surprised Harry.

"Well, I just was wondering before I jump to conclusions, is Louis using me for publicity?" Harry asked, figuring that he might as well be straightforward with the question.

Justin was silent for a moment, worrying Harry.  _"No, not that I'm aware of. I honestly don't think that he could ever do that to someone. I mean, I know he's an asshole, but he doesn't use or take advantage of people. Why do you ask?"_

Harry proceeded to tell him all about what had happened, as though he had never read it in the media or anything. Justin didn't say anything and just listened to Harry's concerns. That was definitely something that Harry didn't expect. He didn't think that Justin would actually want to talk to him, let alone listen to Harry's concerns and worries. It was kind of nice.

_"I can understand your worries about it, but there's no need to worry. If I know Louis, he wouldn't be using you as a PR stunt. Despite his obsessive and annoying tendencies, he's actually a really nice guy. Now you may think I'm bias, but I am very much aware Louis is an annoying dumbass that can be an asshole sometimes and that isn't everyone's cup of tea. However, if you are torn on whether or not you should give him a chance. From what he has shared with me about his feelings, I can tell that he really likes you,"_ Justin explained to him.

"Thank you, Justin. I really appreciate you listening to me and telling me the truth. You've helped immensely," Harry responded to him.

_"No problem, Harry. It was nice talking to you. Anytime you need to vent or anything of that sort, just give me a call,"_ Justin said, the smile apparent in the tone of his voice.

"Can I ask you not to tell Louis about me calling?" Harry requested.

_"Of course. My lips are sealed,"_ Justin responded.  _"Have a good day. Harry."_

"Thanks again, Justin. Sleep well," Harry replied before hanging up.

He held the phone in the palm of his hand, going back to the Twitter DM. He stared down at the text box, debating whether or not he should reply back to Louis and actually give him that chance with the newfound information. Surely, that was clarity on his intentions. But something was still holding Harry back.

\----

Being in Spain was so surreal. As Harry rode from the airport to his hotel with Ellie, he was so captivated by the scenery. He never once thought that his career would take him to the beautiful Spain, to a magazine that would provide so many new opportunities for him. This trip was going to be the best one that he had ever been on.

"Alright, so on the itinerary for tonight, they're having a social starting at eight tonight. I hope you have something fancy because it's a formal social. They wanted to welcome you to both Spain and the Marie Claire family. So, I hope you're okay with that," Ellie explained to him, refreshing her lipstick.

"That's fine. I brought my ivory suit just in case," Harry responded to her.

"Good," she said and checked her phone for the time. "You have exactly an hour when we get to the hotel to sleep or unpack or whatever. An hour for dinner and then half an hour to get ready and half an hour to get to the venue. Sound like a plan? I'll knock on your door each time, so don't worry too much about it. We can't have you stressed before the biggest photoshoot of your life."

"No pressure or anything," Harry muttered under his breath.

"Of course not," Ellie said, shooting him a smirk. "Speaking of, has Louis given you any trouble other than the Radio One interview?"

Harry could've told her about the DM, but he wasn't as against Louis as he once was. "No, I haven't heard from him since the day I started staying at Kendall's."

"Good! Hopefully he doesn't show up here and ruin everything like he tried to do last time. Also, that means that you're able to go back staying at your place," Ellie told him, tapping away on her phone screen.

Within five minutes, they were at their hotel. The place was one of the grandest ones that he has ever stayed at. He felt so posh. They crawled out of the Uber and grabbed their bags from the trunk, loading them onto the awaiting bell hop's cart. Harry thanked him in Spanish, wanting to show his appreciation for the job that the man was doing. He followed Ellie into the building and then was stopped by her.

"I've got the room numbers already. I just have to check in. We're in 353 and 354. I'll meet you there," Ellie told Harry.

He nodded and Ellie told the bellhop where to start heading. Harry and the employee walked over to the lift in complete silence, mostly because they didn't know what to say to each other. Besides, Harry was more invested in his thoughts anyway. He hadn't responded to Louis since he had talked to Justin that morning and it was still gnawing at him. He didn't tell Ellie because he knew that Ellie would tell him that it was a stupid idea that he shouldn't even be considering.

They weren't standing outside the room for very long before Ellie showed up outside. She quickly unlocked both of their rooms and directed the bellhop as to what luggage went in which. When he was done dragging in Harry's things, Harry dug out his wallet and gave the man a tip and thanked him. As soon as the bellhop left, Ellie was walking in the door.

"You've got the schedule, yes? One hour -"

"-to relax, one hour to eat, half an hour to get ready, half an hour to get to the party. Yeah, Ellie, I've got the schedule," Harry said with a slight chucke.

Ellie put her hand on her heart. "I love a client who listens to me. Alright, see you in an hour, H."

She closed the door, leaving Harry alone with his thoughts. He plopped down on the foot of his bed, taking out his phone again and staring down at the DM again. He tapped the dialogue box, the cursor blinking rhythmically as Harry's finger hovered over the letters on the keyboard.

\----

It was halfway through the social and Harry was bored out of his mind. It was a beautiful party, very elegant and definitely exceeded his expectations. However, he didn't have anyone to talk to. Ellie was off getting herself more wine to calm her overactive nerves. He chatted with the people he had to, but they left him to talk to people that they actually knew. It wasn't much fun, but he could make do. It actually got so boring that he was tempted to reply to Louis and tell him to get the next flight to Madrid.

"Shit. You really are as photogenic as they say."

Harry looked up from his phone to see a dark haired woman with a jet black bob walking towards him, putting her phone back into her clutch. He gave her a half smile. "Erm, thanks."

"Sylvia Sanchez. Official paparazzi for the local newspaper," she introduced in a strong Spanish accent, sticking her hand out firmly. "I hope you don't mind if I use this?"

"May I see the photo?" Harry asked. The woman nodded and grabbed her phone from her clutch, quickly bringing up the photo. An idea struck him as soon as he laid eyes on it. "If you'd be willing to send it to me via DM, I'd be more than willing to let you use it."

Sylvia nodded quickly and started tapping away on her device, Harry's soon dinging with a DM notification on Twitter. "Thank you so much, Mr. Styles. Cuidate, Mr. Styles!"

**INSTAGRAM**

       

**harrystyles: miss you.**

Harry reviewed it and quickly pressed post, nervous for what people were going to comment. However, he was hoping that Louis would get the hint. It was directed towards him anyway. It was Harry's subtle way of telling him that he was ready to give him a chance. He figured that if Louis understood the caption, he would DM him. That's when Harry would respond.

Curiosity got the best of him as he stood there and he went to the search tab, hesitating as he typed in Louis' username. Once he got to his page, he clicked on the most recent picture, his eyes widening when he read the caption and watched as the number of likes and comments grew due to how recent it was.

**INSTAGRAM**

**louist91: feel like i'm climbing a ladder that never ends.....miss you**

And with that, Harry's heart finally gave in.

\----


	11. Chapter 11

Harry's eyes blinked open the next morning, the early morning light shining in through the sheer curtains. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the heel of his hand, he grabbed his phone from the nightstand. He searched through the umpteen notifications when he came across a DM notification. That's when he remembered what he had posted the night prior and had began feeling towards Louis. He opened the Twitter app and went to the message tab, seeing that the only DMs he had had were from Kendall and a few other people that he followed. His heart slightly sunk, but then he tapped the composed icon, trying to think of a message that he was most likely going to erase rather than send.

He wanted to tell Louis that he was willing to give him a chance, but he didn't know how to get that into words - let alone if he was still feeling the same way about him, despite the post and the interview. For all he knew, it was all a big scam and Louis was just using him or playing some sick joke on him. It wouldn't surprise him if that were the case. As much as Harry would like to think it wasn't, Louis' history implied that it wasn't too far out of his league.

However, a sudden burst of desire flowed throughout Harry's veins. He did a little research and found Louis' public snapchat. Harry had one, but he didn't publicize it because he didn't like the world knowing every aspect of his life. What he posted on Instagram and every so often on Twitter was enough for him. After he added him, it was nearly an immediate response back. That told Harry that Louis could've very well seen the DM, which worried him slightly. Opening the chat window on Snapchat, Harry pressed the little video chat button and listened to the dial tone as he waited for Louis to pick up.

"Young Harry. What a surprise. I was hoping it was you that I added and not some fake account," Louis greeted as soon as he picked up the call.

"My followers don't even know that I have a Snapchat," Harry chuckled, his morning voice hoarse.

"Have I ever told you that you sound sexy in the morning? I wonder what you would sound like after you had my di-"

" _Stop,_ " Harry cut him off with a smirk.

"So, what in the world compelled you to call me when you're all the way in Spain? Oh, and you claim to hate me," Louis asked, the softest look on his face.

"How did you know that I was in Spain?" Harry wondered, about to rethink his feelings for him. If he was going to go to the extent to stalk him that hard...

"You had it in your geotag on your Instagram post," Louis responded, cutting off Harry's thoughts. He then wriggled his eyebrows. "Who was that intended for by the way?"

"You're so full of questions," Harry laughed, putting his hand over his eyes in embarrassment. "I could be asking you the same, however."

"Oh, so now look who's doing the stalking!" Louis laughed and then the two were quiet for a few minutes before one of them spoke again.

"Mine was intended for you," Harry said quietly, avoiding eye contact with Louis.

"So you did listen to the song then?" Louis said, sounding more reserved.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I listened to the entire interview."

"How'd you like it? Everyone is telling me they love it, which is great, but I want feedback," Louis asked.

"It's not the kind of music that you would normally find in my music reputua, but I really did like it," Harry told him and then looked up at the camera, meeting his ocean blue eyes. "Did you really mean what you said?"

The half-smile on Louis' face fell slightly and he looked down, appearing as though he was getting shy. "I did. I meant all of it, Harry. I know that I came on a bit strong. So, I suppose, I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to hear my name again. If you want me to leave you alone and never speak to you again, go on and let me know right now. After this call, I'll forget everything I know about you and we can go on living our lives and not knowing who each other are."

Harry was somewhat astounded at what Louis was saying. He was expecting Louis to be the opposite and more flirty like he normally was. As Harry looked at his image on the phone screen, it was like looking at a kicked puppy. Harry thought about if he really wanted to give Louis a chance. This was his opportunity to be rid of him forever. But as he thought about it, he couldn't imagine not having him in his life. While Louis had been a nuisance and had annoyed Harry to no end, it would be weird not having that annoyance in the back of his head.

"Harry?" Louis said quietly.

Harry looked back at Louis' nervous complexion. "That wasn't what I expected you to say."

His face twisted into a confused expression. "What did you expect me to say?"

"I don't know...but I do know that I don't want you to disappear," Harry told him, a small smile forming on Louis lips.

"You don't?" he questioned. "After all of the bullshit that I put you through? Are you sure?"

Harry laughed. "I'm sure."

The smile on Louis' face grew so it was almost ear to ear. "I never thought that I'd hear you say that."

"So, I hope that ladder that you keep climbing comes to an end," Harry smirked.

"Who's to say that that was even about you?" Louis said slyly. "But for your inquiry, there's just a few more rungs left."

"I thought you would've made it to the top by now," Harry stated, wondering what Louis had up his sleeve.

"No, no. Don't worry, I'll let you know when I'm there," he flirted. "Not to be that disgustingly cheesy suitor, but I wish you were here."

Harry giggled. "And I you. What do you say to a trip to Spain?"

"I say that I'm down for it, but I don't think any of your management would be very keen on it," Louis admitted.

Harry's face fell, remembering all of the shit that had been put in place because of him. He felt guilty that he was the reason that he was the reason for that. "I'll be back by the end of the week and then we can talk in person."

\----

There were a total of four photoshoots that Harry was assigned to do throughout the week. He had already gone through two and they were amazing. They were unlike any others that he has ever done and he was so grateful for the opportunity. However, with every shoot, he always looked forward to when they were over. With every shoot finished, it meant that he was a day closer to going back home. It wasn't like him to do that when he was working - especially if this was his big break as far as modelling was concerned. He should be basking in the moment, enjoying and cherishing everything that was being given to him and all the opportunities that were being opened up. He did cherish them and he was grateful, but Spain was the last place that he wanted to be. With what had happened with Louis two days ago, he was ready to hop on the next flight to London and solidify his feelings for the guy.

"Harry, what the hell is up with you?" Ellie asked, ripping him out of his thought process.

"What do you mean?" he wondered.

"You're acting strange. Your photos are coming out great, but you're acting really strange when you work. It's like you're in such a big hurry," she pointed out, taking a seat next to him. "What's going on, H?"

"Nothing. I'm trying my hardest to be professional or look like I know what I'm doing but I think that's where I'm failing," Harry lied. He wanted to tell Ellie the truth, but he knew her well enough that she would go bat shit crazy over it.

She gave him a reassuring smile. "Harry, if you just act like you normally do, you'll be fine. How do you suppose you've gotten this far?"

Harry smiled back at her, appreciating her words. He was sat in a white robe, watching the crew set up the next set for the next series in that specific session. They were doing all of the studio photos before they went out on two more excursions in the next two days. He found it interesting how they set everything up. It was much more like clockwork for Marie Claire than any of the other magazines that he's done. They acted like they were robotic almost. It was just amazing how fast and efficient they worked.

As Harry was observing, his phone began to ring in his lap, nearly scaring him out of his director's chair. He looked down at the screen, noticing that Louis was calling him through Snapchat. Quickly, he swiped to answer it.

"What are you doing?" he asked immediately.

_"Hi, Harry. I'm great. Thanks for asking,"_ Louis mocked.

Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance. "You can't call me."

_"And why can't I? I hadn't heard from you since our video chat and I wanted to make sure that you weren't dead somewhere and that I didn't dream the whole thing,"_ Louis expressed.

"Well, I'm not. You can't call me because I'm at work," Harry hissed.

_"Is there a strict no phone policy when you're not getting your picture taken?"_ Louis teased.

"No, but I have a manager that would have your arse hanging above her fireplace mantel if she knew that I was on the phone with the guy that she was ready to throw a restraining order at," Harry warned.

_"Sorry. I didn't know that there was a schedule that I had to follow to get in contact with you,"_ Louis sneered.

"I'm not mad at you. You just caught me off guard. I didn't think that you would call," Harry sighed, trying to save himself.

_"Mhm. I'm going to let you go. When you get a chance, why don't you send me your itinerary so I'm not disrupting your life, alright, princess?"_ Louis sassed irritably.

"Lou-" Harry started, but the line went dead before he could continue.

He let out an irritated groan. Just replaying the conversation, it made Harry feel like a diva. He didn't want Louis to rethink his feelings. Why did he have to be so stupid sometimes? He was terrible at trying to lie and hide the truth. So, why did he put himself in a predicament where he had to?!

"Who were you talking to?" the hairdresser asked, coming over to touch up Harry's looks.

"Oh, just L - my friend," Harry told her. "He's housesitting and was calling about how to make soup. Such an idiot sometimes."

The hairdresser looked at him in the mirror, quirking her eyebrow. "You're not very good at telling a lie, you know."

"I'm not," he lied.

"Alright. Don't worry. I won't tell Ellie you were talking to Louis," the woman smirked.

"Thank yo - shit," Harry cussed, knowing what the woman had done. "Please don't? She'll be so angry and I have to spend the next two days with her."

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe," she assured. "So, are you two...together?"

"Well, no. Not yet anyway. We video chatted the other day and we kind of...addressed our feelings. I think it'll be more solidified when we're in person," Harry told him, not realizing the smile that he had on his face.

"From what Ellie instructed about security when it came to him, I wouldn't have guessed that you liked him," she pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. That was before I realized everything. It's definitely going to be hard to be together with all of this hubbub now," Harry shrugged.

"My suggestion is to keep it quiet until everyone forgets about it or you figure out if it's actually going to work. You know, it's kind of fun running around in secret for a little bit. As long as it isn't against your will," she suggested.

"You have a point. If everything does go to plan, I think that's what will happen. At least, I hope so. I think that it's kind of fun to be a mystery. Keeps everyone guessing," he chuckled.

"Never pinned you as the mysterious type," she giggled.

"Harry mysterious? Please. That boy can't hide something for more than five seconds," Ellie laughed walking back over to Harry.

Harry didn't say anything, not wanting to get her suspicious of him. He didn't like the idea of sneaking behind people's backs, but he also didn't like the idea of people yelling at him either. There was the fact that it was his life and she didn't have any business intruding like that, but there was also the fact that she was like family to him. Ellie was his London mum.

\----

"Wait, Harry called you?" Louis asked, astounded at the news.

_"Yeah. I felt like a complete asshole lying to him like that. I've barely talked to the kid and then when I do, I have to feed into some elaborate lie that you're creating. This is the last scandal of yours that you're dragging me into,"_ Justin explained to him.

"Oh, shut up. Don't act like I forced you to lie. You didn't have to tell him anything if you wouldn't have wanted to," Louis scoffed. He hated when Justin tried to play the victim card.

_"Oh, really? And what was I supposed to have said?"_ Justin sneered.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe something like 'he hasn't told me anything.' It's really not that hard to think of something to get out of it," Louis told him rolling his eyes.

_"Yeah, because he totally would've bought that. I'm the only friend that you're constantly spotted hanging around with when you aren't fucking up your image. It's pretty obvious that I'm your best friend. Fuck, you drug me to Ireland and that backfired on you. He obviously knows that I'm aware of your obsession,"_ Justin went off.

"You know, I was calling that's what supposed best friends do. The only other person that I can call flipped out and doesn't want to talk to me either. But you know what, fuck all of you," Louis yelled, fed up with people yelling at him.

_"Louis, god dammit. Stop acting like you're this in-"_ Justin started but Louis cut him off by hanging up the phone.

First, Harry yelled at him and told him not to call after he had just expressed his feelings for him a couple of days prior. All Louis had been doing was calling him to see how he was and talk to him. Just because Louis was "using" him didn't mean that he didn't like the lad. He actually found the young lad quite intriguing and he wanted to get to know him. Then Kyle called to yell at him about God knows what. Something to do with his debut single was what Louis got from it. He quit listening about two minutes into the conversation. And then there was Justin, yelling at him about Harry. Louis just breathed and he was being attacked.

With a huff, he fell against the back of the couch. He was lonely. He could make the trip to Doncaster to visit his family, but it wouldn't do much good because they were on vacation in France. He sat in silence for a bit and looked up at the ceiling, thinking of what he could do. He had been to London dozens of times, but none of it was that fun when you're alone or when you've done it however many times before. Those thoughts were what caused him to start Googling when the next flight to Madrid was.

\----


	12. Chapter 12

Harry threw his phone onto the makeup table and let out a huff, looking at himself in the mirror as the hairdresser - Penny was her name - styled his hair. He had been trying to get ahold of Louis all night and morning because he felt terrible for having snapped at him. Now Louis wasn't answering him and it was worrying him to the enth degree. His one potential chance at happiness that he most likely jeopardized because he had to be uptight and paranoid.

"Why the deep and distressed sigh?" Penny wondered.

"I can't get ahold of him," Harry answered. "He's not answering his phone."

"Did something happen between you two?" she asked.

"I thought it was something that he would get over, but apparently he's still pressed about it," Harry admitted. "When he called yesterday, I snapped at him for calling me at work because I was scared that Ellie would overhear and go batshit crazy if she pieced it together. I didn't mean to be an arse about it, but I was just paranoid and protecting him from getting sent a restraining order or something. Now, he's ignoring me."

Penny was silent. "I can understand where he'd be a slight bit miffed, but I wouldn't think that he'd spend that long being angry with you over it. He's got to understand where you're coming from."

"That's what I thought! He knows that nobody can know about us. While it isn't so much a big deal for him to keep publicly expressing his love and pining after me, it's a big deal if someone were to find out that I was reciprocating it. It would ruin me and the reputation and career that I'm finally building up to be where I want it," Harry continued, feeling suddenly close to tears. "Maybe even following through with any type of relationship is a bad idea."

Penny quit combing his hair, causing for Harry to look at her in the mirror through his tears. "Who are you and what have you done with Harry Styles?"

"What?" Harry asked, shocked by the increased volume of her voice.

"I know that we've just become acquainted, but I've known about you for the majority of your career. The Harry that I've come to know wouldn't give up so easily. He's spent years working in modelling, trying to find his big break with each passing photoshoot. He didn't give up then. Look where he is - Marie Claire magazine, getting a billion and one photos taken because he's their featured model. That Harry wouldn't give up on his chance at love and happiness just because of people disagreeing with the relationship," Penny lectured him. "It's your life, your love, and your happiness, Harry. You do with it what you want. The only opinion that matters is your own. And your mum's because she brought you into this world."

Harry let her words sink into him. She was right. He had worked so hard to get where he was. So many times he wanted to give up, but he didn't because he knew that he could get where he wanted to go and now he was on the super highway to get there. He can't whimp out on Louis because of fear of what others may think. If he wanted to be with Louis, he was going to have to fight for their relationship. He can't just give up on him just because it might get a little hard. "You're right, Penny. I appreciate you telling me this. Not a lot of people do."

"You're welcome," she smiled warmly. "So, what are you going to do about Louis?"

"What time is this shoot over?" Harry asked.

"At two. You have a little over an hour left," she told him, looking down at her watch.

A smile formed on Harry's face. "I think I'm going to take a quick flight back to London and pick him up and then come back for tomorrow."

"You're a romantic, aren't you?" Penny pointed out with a cheeky smirk.

"A hopeless one at that," Harry chuckled. "I would just book a ticket, but I think it would show how I really felt if I just took a flight, showed up on his doorstep, and drug him back here with me. Maybe add in a few more romantic gestures like I've seen in the movies."

"That  _is_ a romantic gesture. Girl, go get your man!" Penny encouraged.

Harry smiled excitedly. For the first time in a long time, he was feeling butterflies in his stomach about someone else. He felt like a teenager with a crush. Something that he hasn't felt in years. Harry was going to make this relationship work. He didn't care if Ellie had a problem with it or not. It was  _his_ heart that he was dealing with - nobody else's.

\----

As soon as they got out of the car, Harry was bolting into the hotel. He heard Ellie calling after him, but he didn't answer. He had to hurry and pack a bag and then buy the next ticket out. Ellie wasn't going to stop him, no matter what special events were happening that night. He mentally cursed Ellie for booking their rooms upstairs. Running was certainly not something that he wanted to do, but it was the only way to get to Louis.

He inserted the keycard into the slot on his door and pushed it open. He flipped on the light and nearly flew through the roof when he saw what was on his bed.

"Hey, princess."

Louis was lying in a sexy position on the bed, his hand propped on his hip and one under his head. Harry put a hand against his heart, letting it calm down from the heart attack that he had just had. If anything were to interrupt him or slow him down, Harry expected it to be Ellie. But instead, it was the man that he had been willing to go back to London to get. He didn't know how to respond. He wasn't sure if Louis was mad at him or if he was fine. That and he didn't know where they stood. While Harry wanted to express his feelings for him by jumping onto him like a koala and peppering his face with kisses, he didn't think that would be most appropriate since they were so new to the potential relationship.

"I've rendered you speechless, eh? I didn't think would ever happen," Louis smirked, getting up from the bed. He stood, Harry nearly drooling at the sight of him.

Without any thought, Harry walked straight towards him and wrapped him in a tight hug, burying his face into the crook of Louis' shoulder. He let his eyes drift shut as the faint smell of softener wafted into his nostrils. Despite not having hugged him ever before, Harry automatically felt secure in his arms. It could just be the way that Louis hugged, but Harry would like to think that it was just him feeling happy and crushing.

"Are you going to say anything or do I have to interpret everything you say through your body language?" Louis chuckled, holding Harry tighter.

"Do you hate me?" Harry asked, his words muffled from his mouth being partially squished against Louis' shoulder.

"Hate you? Why the hell would I hate you? In case you haven't noticed, I've been the one pining after you for the equivalent of eternity," Louis chuckled.

"Because I was rude and yelled at you. I didn't mean to make you feel like you weren't important because you are. I would've much rather have been with you than those strange people prodding all over me and taking my picture. And then you wouldn't answer my calls or texts and I was so scared that I fucked everything up," Harry rambled, feeling his eyes fill halfway with tears.

"Sure, I was a little miffed about it for about half an hour, but I got over it. Also, I got all of your calls and that. I just didn't answer because I wanted to surprise you here and if I talked to you, I knew that I would let it slip," Louis said, pushing Harry off him. He was looking deeply into Harry's eyes, mesmerizing him. "And what fun would not being able to witness you nearly shitting yourself when you saw me?"

Harry couldn't help but laugh. Louis always had to add humor, which Harry really appreciated. It used to drive him insane that he made a joke out of everything, but now that he realized how he truly felt, he loved it. "Well, your plan worked."

"I know," Louis smiled triumphantly. "So, what do you want to do? You've got the rest of the night free, I assume?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I actually was supposed to do something with Ellie, but I made up some excuse because I was actually going to fly back to London in some big romantic gesture and drag your arse here."

The already bright smile on Louis' face got wider and the watts in his smile brightened. "You were really going to do that?"

Harry smiled and blushed, embarrassed by how much of a romantic he could be sometimes. "Well, yeah. I felt bad for snapping at you and I wanted to see you after everything that's happened between us."

Louis' smile softened and he took a step forward, grabbing Harry's hands loosely in his. "Do you really feel that way about me?"

"After some thinking, I decided that I didn't hate you and I actually like you. It was one of those things where as much as I put on that I hated you, I didn't actually mean it because if you just disappeared from my life, I would be really sad. As much of an annoyance as you were, I subconsciously enjoyed it. I normally don't let strange men that I hate crash at my flat for as long as I did with you," Harry smirked. "I guess, it's one of those things where I'm not used to getting this kind of genuine attention from someone. It's usually all sexual or pervy attention from guys, which is some of what held me back at first since we had a one night stand within a few hours of knowing each other. I wasn't sure if you just saw me as a good fuck and were just a dick or if you actually had feelings for me. I'm not really good at handling these kinds of things."

"Well, if I'm honest, you were a good fuck and I wouldn't mind having you again," Louis shrugged, earning a slap on the shoulder from Harry. " _But_ that's just an added bonus. I saw you in a magazine at Justin's house and ever since then, I wanted to meet you and get to know you because you just seemed like someone I would go for. And you are. So...I'm glad you really like me, Harry. Because I really like you too."

Harry felt his cheeks heat up and butterflies fluttered in his stomach. He brought eyes back up to Louis' and the two of them leaned in towards each other, their lips softly colliding. Sparks and fireworks erupted in Harry's mind as their lips melded together in such a way. Harry gradually put his arms around Louis' neck and Louis positioned his around Harry's hips. Harry didn't want the kiss to end and he was sure that Louis didn't either.

That's when Harry realized that having a relationship with Louis wasn't going to be all that bad.

\----

Louis was lying in the hotel room bed, looking up at the ceiling. Harry was softly snoring, his head resting on Louis' chest. It was nice, not having to be alone. It was also nice to have someone to cuddle at night. It made Louis feel needed and he liked that. However, as he stared at the ceiling, he wasn't feeling the triumph that he thought that he would. He actually felt a slight bit of guilt. After talking to Harry a bit more and getting to know him better, he found out a lot of personal things. Like why Harry had a hard time trusting people. That one hit Louis right in the balls. Harry claimed that a lot of people, especially men, had just used them and left him for the dogs. Louis was doing that somewhat. He was using him, but he wasn't going to leave him for dead.

Or was that what he had planned?

After he got his reputation back up and running, what had he planned on doing with Harry? Dumping him like last month's spoiled milk? Now that Louis thought a little more into it, he felt like a dick for having even considered doing that in the first place. Harry was a human with emotions and feelings and Louis was going to use him like a dishrag and then throw him out when he was done with him. It was then that he knew he went about the whole beard thing the wrong way. Instead of tricking Harry like this, he should've just come out and asked him if he wanted to be his beard. That would've been the smarter way that wouldn't have hurt as many people in the process.

But Louis was a dumbass. Taking his arm out from around Harry and carefully adjusting himself onto his side, Louis shook his head and cursed at his late night thoughts. He was thinking into it too much. He was doing what he commanded himself not to do - get attached and have a conscience. It also didn't help that it was late at night and everyone gets emotional when they're tired. Louis wasn't just going to up and dump Harry. He would make him sick of him, but in a way that would make it seem like they drifted apart. That would be the best way to go about it. That way nobody would get hurt, Louis' future repaired reputation would still be intact, and Harry would go about life in his modelling world without any tears. It was a fool proof plan. Louis could distance himself enough from the situation to not have any conflicting feelings with his plan. He had it all under control, much better than he did before.

Or did he?

\----


	13. Chapter 13

After the long twelve hour day they had shooting, Harry was relieved to be going back to his hotel. Not only that, but he felt like the day had just crawled by slower than a turtle because he was looking forward to spending his final night in Spain with Louis. He was trying to think of things that they could do without getting spotted by the paparazzi. In his head, he somewhat cursed Louis for releasing a song and going off about having a thing for Harry because that made him a hot ticket for the media, especially if he was spotted with Harry. But it was all a sweet gesture looking back at it, which made Harry happy. They could work with it. They would go on a date and enjoy the beautiful and romantic country, even if it meant they had to do it in disguise.

Once Harry got to his room, he knocked gently and stuck the keycard into the slot. He opened the door, a bright smile on his face. Louis was standing above his suitcase on the bed, folding the articles of clothing and putting them back into the suitcase.

"Hey, Lou," Harry greeted.

Louis looked up, his features brightening up. "Hey. You're finally home. I thought you'd left me."

"Leave you? What would make you think that?" Harry laughed, setting his things down on the dresser.

"It was so bloody clean in here when I woke up this morning. There wasn't a trace of you. I was scared that you had bolted just to make a fool of me," he admitted. "But then I opened the closet and saw your frilly wardrobe."

"Surprised you didn't call in a panic," Harry laughed. "Just so you know, I would never do something that shitty to someone unless they were right shitty to me."

"Good. I shouldn't have to worry then," Louis said, flashing him a quick smile.

"So, is that why you're packing your things?" he asked. "You do know that we don't leave until mid-morning tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah, I know. I was just picking out my clothes," he said nonchalantly.

"Louis Tomlinson picking out his clothes fifteen hours before he wakes up? Never would've pinned you as the type," Harry smirked.

"Oh, I'm definitely not. I usually just find something that looks good and throw it on about half an hour before I have to go unless it's something formal. Then I give it an hour," he confessed flatly, looking at Harry with the most serious expression.

"What are you picking your clothes out for then? Trying something new?" Harry wondered, giving a bit of a laugh at the end of his sentence.

"Hmm, no. I actually had something planned," Louis hummed.

"Plans? All the way in Spain?" Harry deadpanned, shocked that Louis had any type of plans. Had he been planning this for a while?

"Yeah, actually. I wasn't going to tell you, but I have a date with this guy," he responded. "He's pretty fit. Charming too. Has a tendency to be a little fiesty. There's also this sense of innocence about him, despite having done some not so innocent stuff. That's a real turn on."

"Sounds like a catch," Harry shrugged.

"He is actually. I think you two would get on pretty well," Louis continued. "Maybe if all works out, I'll bring him to meet you sometime."

"That would be a bit of a dick thing to do though, wouldn't it? Being I confessed my feelings for you and that not even twenty-four hours ago," Harry pointed out.

Louis stepped away from his suitcase and went in front of Harry, placing his hands firmly on Harry's hips, pulling him towards him so the tips of their noses were just barely brushing together. "Hmm, you might be right. I wonder if he has a jealous streak in him."

"Jealous is such an ugly word," Harry whispered, pressing his lips on Louis' gently before pulling back just slightly. "I would say that he just doesn't want to share with others."

Louis just let out a small chuckle. Harry looked into his eyes, the blue irises deep and mesmerising. As Harry looked into them, he could see that there was a story, one that Harry barely skimmed the surface of with what little he had already known about him. Louis pressed their lips back together, interrupting Harry's time of admiration. That was okay though. His lips made Harry feel happy. A happiness that he hadn't felt in a long time.

\----

It was nearing 6:30 and Harry and Louis were just starting to get ready for their first date. In the hours before, they had just cuddled and kissed each other. They didn't go any further. Louis had asked if he wanted to, but Harry declined. Just because they had had sex before didn't mean that they were going to all of the time now that they were together. Harry wanted to take things slow, forget their past, and move forward like a normal couple. Harry wanted the next time that they had sex was when it would be making love. Louis understood and respected that, which gave him hundreds of points in Harry's book.

Neither of them really knew what they were going to do on the date other than maybe going to dinner. It was kind of exciting not knowing. It left the night open for opportunity and gave more room for memories to be made. As Harry stood at the closet, looking for the perfect outfit to wear, there was a knock on the door. He quickly ran to the bathroom door and shut it, gesturing to Louis to stay quiet. He ran over to the door, took a deep breath, and then whipped it open far enough so nobody could push past him.

"Hey, Ellie," Harry greeted with a smile.

"Was I interrupting something...?" she asked, quirking her eyebrow suggestively.

"What?  _Oh._ No! You're disgusting. I was just getting ready," he answered.

"Ready? For what? Where are you going by yourself?" she quizzed.

"I'm in Spain, so I'm going to go explore a little bit and I'm going to treat myself a little bit, so I'm dressing up," Harry said, saving himself after he realized what he said.

"Well, I was going to invite you to a party at Marie Claire, but it isn't mandatory," she explained. "But being that you're going out yourself, would you like a companion? I've never really explored Spain for as many times that I've been here."

He gave her a sweet smile, regretting everything that he had said. "Well, I was kind of just wanting to go out myself. You know, spend some time alone. Haven't really got that in the past few weeks with all that's gone on."

Ellie nodded, looking almost hurt. Harry felt guilty immediately. "That's understandable, I suppose. You have a good night then. Don't get trashed and remember that we have a flight tomorrow morning at eleven."

"I won't forget," he smiled. "We'll have to plan a trip here. Just you and I. No work or anything - just exploring. How's that sound?"

She turned around, flashing him a smile. "That would be really nice, Harry."

As she walked away, Harry's smile faltered. He felt bad for Ellie. She had to spend every night alone and couldn't even enjoy herself in such a beautiful country. Not to mention that lying to her made him feel even worse. He felt like he was distancing himself from her and he didn't want to do that, but the only other alternative to that was her finding out about Louis and he knew that that wouldn't go down well at all.

Shaking the thoughts from his mind, he went back to the bathroom, pushing the door open. "She's gone."

Harry went back to his closet, sifting through his clothes until he came across a combination of clothes that he liked. It was the perfect mixture of formal and casual that it wouldn't look like he was expecting to be at some black tie event. He knew that Louis hadn't brought anything that fancy to wear, so it would compliment him quite nicely. 

Once it was on him, he looked in the mirror, debating on pairing it with some sort of hat, but decided that it would be too much. He knocked on the bathroom door, stepping in just the slightest bit. "Are you about done in here?"

"Yeah, I just finished up," Louis answered, hurrying past him, not looking at Harry. They wanted to be as normal as possible - like they weren't getting ready in the same hotel room, so they didn't look at each other. It was the ultimate challenge.

Harry went into the bathroom, opening his small case. He grabbed his Tom Ford cologne, spritzing himself generously. The musky vanilla scent wafted up into his nostrils, causing a wave of calmness to wash over him. He applied his simple makeup routine - dollop of foundation, swipe of highlighter, brush of bronzer, finishing powder, clear mascara, and a touch of his light rose colored liquid lipstick. There wasn't much to his makeup routine - in fact, it was hard to tell that he was even wearing any unless examined under a surgical light. He gave himself a James Charles-esque spritz of setting spray, just so none of the makeup would come off or smudge easily. He moved onto his hair, combing through it to get the small tangles out. Other than that, it still held from Penny's job on it from earlier.

When he was finished, he looked at himself in the mirror. Taking a deep breath, Harry adjusted himself, pleased with how he looked. It had been a while since he had been out on a first date. Despite having spent the entire afternoon with Louis, Harry was getting those first date jitters. He didn't know what to expect. Yeah, he had seen Louis in a casual setting, but what would he be like in a date setting? Would he be romantic? Would he be a douche? Not only was it Louis under fire, but it was also Harry. Did he look good enough? Was he going to be awkward? Would Louis change his mind? It was the normal jitters, but just a bit more amplified considering.

When he was confident that he was ready to go, Harry walked towards the bathroom door. He opened it and Louis was seated on the bed, his eyes glued to the television. Harry stepped out, getting his attention. Louis' jaw dropped slightly, the expression on his face changing into a look of amazement.

"Harry, you look proper...damn, I can't be seen with someone that looks as good as you," he exhaled, his eyes floating all over Harry's body.

Harry felt his cheeks heat up at the compliment. "Thank you. You look amazing yourself."

"Don't even say that. I look like a hot mess compared to you. You're breathtaking," Louis continued as Harry's cheeks continued to tint an even darker shade of pink.

Louis turned the telly off and put on a pair of sunglasses along with a black fedora. Harry couldn't help but chortle a laugh at the uncommon accessories. "You do realize that it's dark outside, right?"

"Yeah. You never know. The moon might be extra bright tonight," he smirked sarcastically. "You want to leave the hotel at the same time as me, yeah?"

"That would be preferred," he giggled.

Harry started off towards the door, sticking his head out and looked down the hall both ways to make sure that the coast was clear of Ellie or anyone. When he gave Louis the thumbs up, the two of them rushed towards the staircase, a spurt of adrenaline pumping through Harry's veins the entire time they were in the hallway. Once they got downstairs, Harry quickly scanned over the people that were milling about, not noticing Ellie or anyone from the modelling firm or security or Marie Claire amongst them. However, Harry felt one hundred percent okay when they were out the door and walking down the street towards the inner city.

Louis grabbed his hand, gripping it firmly as they swung it back and forth. "So, princess, where are we headed tonight?"

\----


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was listening to the song Fire Away by Niall and it gave me a lot of feels. So, yeah. Give that a listen while you read. :)

Harry was incredibly pleased at the restaurant they were in. It was a five star, something that he never imagined himself sitting in for a first date. It was absolutely beautiful. There was virtually nobody in there, which somewhat surprised him, but at the same time, he was thankful because that meant that they didn't have to disguise themselves as well as they did when they were on the way there.

"How can you afford this, Louis?" Harry asked, shocked at the prices of the food when he looked down at the menu.

A small smile formed on Louis' face. "I'm not some homeless and washed up actor, Harry. Besides, you deserve the world, so I wanted to give you something of equal value for our first date. Also, I wanted to apologize, somewhat, for being an arse before we got together. I know that I kind of went a little too far sometimes and I'm sorry. Well, sort of. If I hadn't been annoying, I wouldn't be sitting here right now."

Harry's heart fluttered at the words and he gave him a wide smile. "Thank you, Louis. I accept your apology. But, I will have you know that I am kind of glad you did because I have never met someone that I hated and ended up actually liking them."

The waiter approached them, nearly ruining the moment that they were having. "Can I offer you some wine or champagne?"

"Can you give us your best champagne? Something that's good for a first date with the person that you're going to spend the rest of your life with," Louis requested, not tearing his eyes off of Harry.

"Coming right up, sir," the waiter said as he disappeared in the back.

"How do you know that you're going to spend the rest of your life with me?" Harry inquired, finding the sentence sweet, but was curious.

"Because from the moment that I first saw you, I knew that you were the one that I've been waiting my whole life for," Louis charmed.

If Harry's heart could, it would've fluttered right out of his chest. "You really think that?"

"Of course I do, H. If I didn't, I wouldn't have tried my damnedest to pursue you like I did. I wouldn't have whipped up a song about you for my debut single," Louis smiled. "Hell, I flew all the way to Spain and risked my arse legally sneaking into your room. If that doesn't show my feelings for you, I don't know what more I can do."

That made Harry realize just how much Louis wasn't a bad guy. "I can't believe that you did any of that. It makes me happy that you think that about me. I'd have to say that I feel the same about you. I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life with you either, Louis."

It was at that time that Harry knew that he felt happy and that it was okay to be with Louis, no matter what anyone said. Although it was only their first date, Harry had a feeling that it was going to last longer than one of Louis' famous flings. He only let himself fall for someone if he knew that there was potential for a long relationship. That never happened before - he didn't trust easily. But he could confirm that he felt himself falling further and further as the night went on.

\----

"It's beautiful out here," Harry commented, looking up at the starry night sky as they started to walk across a bridge. "I never thought that I would ever be here. Not for this reason anyway."

"I'm actually surprised you didn't get your big break sooner," Louis commented.

"Oh, stop. Now you're just trying to be a kiss ass," Harry giggled, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"Don't be so modest. If the camera was made for anyone, it would be for you," he continued. "You're absolutely gorgeous, whether you want to be or not."

"Would you stop complimenting me? I don't like being such a spectacle," Harry giggled, looking down in embarrassment.

"Is my princess getting embarrassed?" Louis smirked, catching Harry's eyes. "I can't help it. You deserve to hear how beautiful and lovely you are as much as humanly possible."

Harry stopped once they got to the middle of the bridge and sat down on the bench at the lookout point, staring out at the reflection of streetlights on the still surface of the river. So many thoughts were flowing through his head, so many emotions. He rested his arms on his thighs and felt Louis' warm hand wrap gently around his right one, giving it the slightest squeeze. He glanced over at Louis, who was smirking at the view, not looking at him. He nonchalantly scooted himself closer to Louis and leaned over so his head was resting on his shoulder. Louis let go of Harry's hand after a few seconds and wrapped his arm around his back, the scene looking like it was pulled straight out of a Nicholas Sparks novel.

His fingers traced patterns over Harry's bicep, causing him to feel calm. Eventually, his fingers found their way to Harry's long curls, playing on the ends just slightly. If there was one thing that Harry loved, it was when someone played with his hair. It wasn't a sexual feeling (although he got really wild when someone would pull his hair), but it was rather a relaxing feeling to have someone playing gently with it, especially when it was someone that made him feel like he was the most loved person in the world.

"Why did you choose me? Literally, out of all people, me. I'm nothing like you or your friends," Harry asked quietly.

"Exactly. You're completely different from that person that I was and some of the people that I used to hang out with. I was sick of being known as a fuck up and being surrounded by people that would always say yes and encourage my bad behavior. You're not like that. Besides your beautiful personality and looks, I knew that you were the type of person that wouldn't let me be an idiot. I wanted someone like that - fuck, I need someone like that," Louis admitted. "I need to clean up. I'm sick of living that party boy lifestyle. It's boring and senseless. I'm wasting my life."

Harry sat up, not really knowing this about Louis. "What exactly did you do?"

"Stupid shit like flashing paps, although I don't really regret that because those idiots are fucking arseholes. I trashed bars, ruined property. A lot of the stupid shit Justin did, I did. I smoked weed. Well, that wasn't completely stupid because it helped with stress, but I want to get off it. I still smoke cigarettes though. I've tried a lot of hard drugs. I used to do them sometimes at parties just to fit in with everyone else. I quit that when I met you in Ireland though. I haven't done it since. Oh, and also, I used to drink obscene amounts of alcohol. I'm not going to go completely dry, but I definitely need to cut back. I'm surprised that I still have a liver if I'm honest," Louis explained to him. He met Harry's eyes finally. "There's so much more than what I've told you. That's just a snippet."

Harry was quiet. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know much about Louis other than some of his run-ins with the paparazzi. "Wow, Louis, I didn't...I didn't know that. I mean, I knew you did stupid things, but I didn't think it was to that amount."

Louis nodded and put his head down in shame, looking down at his now twiddling thumbs. "I hope none of it scares you off with how recent it was and all. I've been wanting to change for a while, I just never knew how."

"You haven't scared me. I just don't want you doing these things anymore," Harry told him. "Justin's cleaned up. Why couldn't he help you?"

"Justin tried, but I didn't listen, so he quit a long time ago. He's been sticking with me through everything and I know that he'll still be my friend after that life is completely in my past. I was just too ignorant and was too busy listening to everyone else that was encouraging my behavior to actually give his words some thought," Louis continued. He grabbed Harry's hand again, giving it a little squeeze as they locked eyes. "It was you who finally got me to realize that I needed to finally grow up."

"But I didn't do anything except sleep with you when I had first met you," Harry chuckled slightly.

"No, it was before that. Before we met. Justin's the reason that we're together now. He had fashion magazines on his coffee table and I was looking through it because I was bored. I came across your picture and I was immediately awestruck by you. I asked him questions and he had said that you were a friend of Kendall's and told me what little he knew about you. I did a little research, saw a few interviews of you, and I knew that you were the kind of person that I needed in my life. You were the person that I wanted," Louis cooed. "The sleeping with you was just an added perk from a night of some heavy drinking."

Harry didn't know how to respond. He was enamored with Louis, admired him for how far he had come and how he was willing to give up his party days just for  _him._ That was how much of an impact Harry had on Louis and they barely knew each other. It was something that warmed Harry's heart and made the butterfly farm in his stomach go wild. He was falling so hard for Louis, so fast.

He didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

\----

Telling Harry the whole story of how he was a lost soul that finally found his way when he found him was the best idea that Louis had ever had. He knew for sure that it would make Harry's heart melt and make him feel empathy towards him. It was kind of cruel, manipulating his feelings like that, but it was all apart of Louis' plan and it was a big move that would really solidify the relationship and feelings that Harry was starting to get. Some of it was true, but some of it was also exaggerated. Like the hard drugs. The worst one Louis ever did was accidentally snort cocaine when he was extremely drunk and that had only happened once. But Harry didn't need to know that.

"I can't believe that I just was an arsehole to you like I was...if I had only known what you've been through, I wouldn't have been so...terrible," Harry admitted.

"It's alright, love. I like a good chase," Louis smirked. "Besides, you're worth it."

Seeing the blushes form on Harry's cheeks almost made Louis regret his whole plan. Almost. He knew that he couldn't let his personal feelings get in the way of it. If he didn't go through with fooling Harry into being his beard for a while, it would be useless and his image and reputation wouldn't be changed and he would live the rest of his life as a starving actor that was mediocre at singing, just waiting for the royalties off reruns to be deposited into his bank account each week. He didn't want to do that. He wanted to be able to get big roles in major movies. He wanted to be the next Will Ferrell or Zac Efron. He was putting all faith in this little beard experiment with Harry to hopefully get him to that point or on the road to that point. Hell, he could try to be a double threat with his music. Well, if anyone liked it, he could be.

"This is such a beautiful view," Harry commented, his hand entwined in Louis' as he looked out at the view with a small smile on his face.

"Not as beautiful as the one I'm looking at," Louis flirted, watching as Harry's eyes flicked over to his, his cheeks once again turning a beautiful shade of pink. "I have somewhere that I want to take you."

Harry's eyes lit up even more than they already were. "Where?"

Louis stood up, not letting go of Harry's hand. "It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, now would it?"

Harry rolled his eyes and stood up. "It better be worth it. I'm not a fan of surprises."

"Only mine," Louis teased, pulling Harry towards him, planting his lips onto Harry's soft ones.

The two of them started walking back towards downtown, their hands intertwined tightly. It was nice to hold someone's hand after so long. Especially the way that Harry was holding it with a tight, yet gentle grip. It was comforting in a way. Luckily, while Harry had been at his photoshoot, Louis had planned out romantic places that he could take Harry to get him whipped. Not only that, but he had always wanted to have one of those cute movie moments with someone in a romantic place. This was his chance, so he might as well go for it.

A silence had fallen over the two of them, but it was one that was comfortable as they walked hand-in-hand. Passerbys were glancing over at them, either giving them small smiles or looking at them with disapproval. Louis didn't much care because he had always been proud of his sexuality. So what if he was seen with a man or woman? He was bisexual. He wasn't going to hide that fact. Love isn't something that people can control, so why try and mask it over something as silly as whether or not the person was the same sex? He was proud of whoever he was with and he was going to show them off to the world. Well, in this scenario, he couldn't yet per Harry's request and Louis' fear of legal issues with said team. It would happen though. It had to in order for his plan to work.

"Are we almost there?" Harry asked, a slight whine playing in his voice.

"Maybe..." Louis teased. He looked up at the building where the surprise was at. It wasn't too much further. He was thankful that he had called ahead to the security guard, just to make sure that the establishment would stay open for them.

They walked a little further to the building, the security guard waiting on the inside of the store's entry room before they got into the actual store. When they approached, the man opened it up for them, Harry smiling in gratitude.

"Thank you, sir," Harry thanked.

"You're welcome," he answered with a thick Spanish accent. He nodded towards Louis.

Harry looked back at him, a playful smile on his face. "Did you set this up specially?"

"Nevermind that," Louis smirked.

He stepped in front of Harry, not dropping Harry's hand as he opened the door with his free one. "Surprise!"

Harry walked in and raised his eyebrows, taking in the bright lights. "Your surprise is a clothing store?"

"You wish it was," Louis teased. "No, but you're almost there. Follow me."

Harry let out a little chuckle as Louis gently pulled him behind. He led them back behind the counter, through the door that went into the back room with all of the merchandise that hadn't been stocked in the store. Harry stopped, causing Louis to look back at him with concern. "What is it?"

"We're not supposed to be back here, Louis," Harry countered. "I don't want to get in trouble. Ellie would put my arse on her fireplace mantel if I got arrested."

Louis rolled his eyes. "Silly boy. We're not going to get arrested. You'll be fine. Now, c'mon, love."

Louis didn't wait for Harry to respond and grabbed his hand again, dragging him towards the back door. Louis swung open the heavy metal door, revealing what looked to be a rickety metal spiral staircase. Louis looked back at Harry, who's green eyes had widened to the size of saucers as he looked at it. As his grip on Louis' hand began to loosen, Louis grabbed it back tighter, giving him a squeeze of confidence and reassurance.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you," Louis whispered in his ear, placing a butterfly kiss on his cheek.

Louis gave Harry's hand one more squeeze and started towards the stairs, grabbing the railing with his free hand. Harry hesitantly followed, gripping Louis' hand like his life depended on it. Louis led him up the stairs slowly, not wanting to rush Harry because he knew that he was scared. Knowing that Harry was trusting him to take him up a four story building on a squeaky spiral staircase was a relieving feeling. It felt nice to know that he was helping Harry with one of his fears. He liked the feeling of someone trusting him.

"We're almost to the top. Are you doing alright, love?" Louis asked, trying to make his voice sound more calm instead of a yell.

Harry nodded. "I think so. I just won't look down."

Louis gripped his hand just as tight as Harry was holding his and they continued their trek up the last bout of stairs. He saw the lights beginning to illuminate the surprise that was up there, causing for a small smile to spread on his face. He took a glance back at Harry, who was focusing on Louis' hand in his. Louis was excited, knowing that Harry was going to absolutely love what he was about to see.

"Okay, you're on the fifth to last stair. Can you close your eyes for the rest of the way?" Louis asked, knowing the reaction that he was about to get.

"Are you fucking nuts?! You're lucky you got me this far!" Harry responded.

"You'll be okay. I promise that I won't let you fall or anything," Louis reassured him, but saw the look of apprehensiveness painted on Harry's face. He held up their tightly entwined hands. "I've got you. You're going to be okay."

"I'm trusting you with my life right now, Louis. I swear to God if I fall and die, I will haunt your arse with a vengeance," Harry replied with warning, shutting his doe eyes.

To make him feel better, Louis instructed him when to step up until he was stood on the sold ground of the roof of the building. Louis led him a little further onto the solid ground so he wouldn't get scared that he was going to tip backwards. Before telling him to open his eyes, Louis looked around at the beautiful secret garden that was lit by the twinkling Christmas lights wrapped into the trees, a hanging moon chair that was gently swinging in the slight breeze. It was just as breathtaking as Louis imagined. 

"Can I open my eyes or are you going to make me stand here like an idiot?" Harry asked, interrupting Louis' amazement.

Louis gave his hand a squeeze and gently said to him: "You can open them, love."

Louis watched as Harry's eyes slowly opened, a smile forming as his mouth fell slightly open at the beautiful sight. Harry looked over at Louis after a moment. "Did you...?"

"No, no, I didn't do this. I was looking online for romantic places and I found this one and knew that I had to take you here," Louis admitted. "Not a lot of people know that it's here. It's a secret garden."

"It's breathtaking, Louis. I didn't expect to be somewhere so...magical," Harry told him, letting go of Louis' hand as he started to walk around the top of the building.

Louis shoved his hands in his pockets and followed Harry casually around the place. He would've looked at the beauty of the place, but he couldn't take his eyes off of Harry. "It's almost as breathtaking as you."

Harry's head turned back to Louis, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment. "You're lying."

"I wouldn't lie to you about something like that," Louis told him, walking over to the swinging chair, taking a seat. "Yeah, this place is gorgeous, but I'd rather stare at you. Now, come sit here, my darling."

Harry looked away with a shy smile, embarrassed by the compliment. After a moment, he did as Louis requested and walked over to the chair, not sure of where to sit. "What, do you want me on your lap?"

"That was the plan, to be honest," Louis shrugged, patting his leg.

Harry shook his head and chuckled, sitting himself sideways across Louis' lap. He positioned his head so it was resting on Louis' chest. Louis moved his arms so he was hugging Harry closer to him. Once they were comfortable and positioned, Harry played around with Louis' fingers, his gentle touches making Louis feel calm.

"Thank you for tonight," Harry told him, tearing Louis from his thoughts.

"You're welcome. Thank you for agreeing to go out with me finally," Louis said with a teasing tone.

Harry moved his head so he was looking at Louis upside down. "You didn't really give me much choice, you dolt."

"But you liked it nonetheless," Louis chuckled, kissing his forehead.

Harry twisted around carefully so he was looking at Louis head on rather than upside down, their faces only inches apart. "I know that I don't like when you compliment me like you do, but I just want you to know that it really does mean everything to me. I haven't had someone tell me things like that in a long time and...and actually mean it. Everything that you've told me tonight, I really appreciate you trusting me enough to make yourself that vulnerable. I know that it isn't easy."

Louis gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Harry. For listening to me. You have a heart made of gold."

Harry's cheeks blushed again, their eyes locking together. Louis' smile widened and he leaned himself forward, placing his lips on Harry's in a deep kiss. As soon as their lips locked, it was like everything in Louis' head disappeared. His only focus was Harry and the imaginary sparks exploding around them. It felt like he was having his first kiss again, which was odd being that he didn't have actual feelings for Harry. He was distancing himself. He wasn't falling for Harry. He knew what he had to do and he was going to have to go through all the motions to get to where he wanted.

\----


	15. Chapter 15

Harry smiled to himself as he sat in his spot on the plane, thinking about the night prior. It felt like a dream, so unreal that something that beautiful happened, especially with Louis. The music playing through his earbuds got quiet for a split second, causing Harry to look down at the screen and read the Twitter DM that was showing.

**@Louis_Tomlinson: i'm in the same plane and shit i already miss you :) hahaha can't wait to see you in a few hours**

Harry snickered as he read the message, finding it cute that he quoted his own song. It made Harry sad that they had to take the same flight and not sit together, but he also felt fine with it because it was their little secret. It was kind of like Romeo and Juliet with their forbidden love and that sounded exciting to Harry. It would add a little action into his relatively boring life.

"What are you so smiley about?" Ellie asked as she took a seat next to Harry.

He quickly clicked off his phone in fear that she might see the message. "Nothing. Liam just sent me a meme."

"You kids and those memes. I will never understand," Ellie laughed, not having a clue that Harry was lying straight through his teeth. "You did a really great job this week. The spread is going to look absolutely wonderful. I was thinking we could meet tomorrow sometime so we could finish up some final details for it? Such as submitting a few of your own photos for some of the things that they interviewed you about. Would that work with you, say...ten o'clock?"

Harry nodded. "That should be fine. Am I able to go home now? I feel kind of bad asking to stay with Liam or Kendall again. They don't need to be drug into this anymore than they already are." 

"I would think so. There hasn't been any sightings of Louis around London or your home. The front desk reception hasn't seen him around," Ellie reported to him. "For all we know, he's back in Los Angeles, trying to promote his silly song."

_Wrong. He's just on the other side of the curtain,_ Harry thought to himself, feeling sneaky.

"Has he tried contacting you?" Ellie asked. "That will be our tell-all sign."

"No, he hasn't. Other than when he released that song," Harry lied, hoping that she wouldn't suddenly detect anything.

"Speaking of, what was that Instagram photo about?" Ellie quizzed. "You put the name of the song as the caption."

Harry's stomach dropped, realizing just what an idiotic thing he did. He had been too caught up in trying to get the message across to Louis that he hadn't even thought about what Ellie or anyone else would think of it. "I didn't mean to. I was texting Liam and a photographer took it and I thought it looked good, so I asked the photographer if I could have it and I figured since I was texting Liam, that it would be a good caption. He shouldn't have chose such common words for the title."

Ellie looked like she bought Harry's fib, which gave him a sense of relief. The last thing that he needed was for her to find out and spend the next two and a half hours with her mad and scolding him or giving him the silent treatment. The lady came over the intercom, saying that their flight would be departing in five minutes. Harry leaned against the window and brought his phone up and angeled it so Ellie wouldn't be able to see the screen.

**@Harry_Styles: meet me at mine...go out back by the garage so I can sneak you in. ;)**

Harry made sure it sent before setting his phone on airplane mode. He looked out the window with a small satisfied smile on his face. He got himself comfortable and shut his eyes, mentally counting down the minutes until he would be able to spend the night with his new partner in crime.

\----

It felt good to be back in the comforts of his own apartment. As he flipped almost every light in the apartment on, he noticed the layer of dust that had settled on everything. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day of cleaning and making the place look as spic and span as it was before he had to go on Ellie's witness protection program. All the suitcases that he had brought were sitting in the corner of his bedroom, untouched. As much as it bothered him, Harry was knackered and didn't want to clean or do any type of house cleaning until he was reenergized the next day. Just as he was about to dig through his closet and change into something a little more dressy for when Louis would show up, his phone vibrated with a call. He took out his phone and saw that Louis was calling him through Snapchat. They really needed to exchange numbers.

"Quicker than I thought," Harry giggled as he answered.

_"I ran like hell because I couldn't wait to finally be alone with you,"_ Louis charmed.

"You didn't run, but I do appreciate that you would if you had to," Harry laughed. "I'll be down in a minute. Try to keep yourself out of anyone's sights. I just need to change."

_"Don't change. I don't want you to get all gussied up for me. This is going to be a cuddly night in, okay?"_ Louis instructed.

A smile spread across Harry's face. "Okay. If you say so."

Harry felt a little awkward not changing out of his grungy flight clothes, but at the same time, knowing that Louis wanted him to look that way made him comfortable. Harry knew that Louis didn't really care what he looked like, which was a breath of relief for Harry. Everyone always expected him to look like he could do a photoshoot on the spot and it got exhausting having to do that routine nearly every time he left the house. He loved putting on his light makeup and wearing his best clothes, but he also liked when he could lounge around in a t shirt and pair of joggers. Now that he was going to be featured in such a big magazine, he knew that even more pressure and expectations from society and his agency was going to be applied.

Grabbing his keys from the ring, Harry exited his apartment and locked the door, just in case someone was feeling snoopy. He made his way to the lift, hitting the garage button to avoid Tucker and Wade and anyone else that would ask questions about why he was sneaking someone into the building. Being that he was friends with Kendall, she had showed him a secret way to get out of the building and avoid paparazzi. There were two ways, but in Harry's situation, he could only do the second way if he wanted both of them to get into the apartment unsuspected. Sure, he had to walk clear cross the parking garage and go through a few secret hallways, but it wasn't too much extra work.

It was actually somewhat of a relaxing walk if you could put aside the idea of being in a sketchy, horror movie-esque garage. However, he was nearly out of breath from power walking when he got to the bottom of the small staircase that led to the back door. Not wanting to look like he was panting, Harry stood there and took a few deep breaths, attempting to even out his breathing pattern. Once he felt like he was good and felt normal, he walked up the stairs and pulled open the heavy door, the bright sunlight nearly blinding him. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he expected to see Louis standing in front of him, but was greeted with the lovely sight of a brick wall from the divider between buildings.

"Louis?" Harry called out, trying not to be too loud in case the paps were hiding around.

When he didn't receive an answer, he stepped out of the garage and looked around, expecting to see Louis hanging around somewhere, but he didn't. Sliding out his phone, he opened Snapchat to give him a call. However, as soon as his phone unlocked, he heard movement and then the familiar accent filled the air.

"Wondered when you were going to be coming out here. Been waiting for ages. You're lucky someone didn't think I was trying to break in," Louis teased, a smirk playing at his lips.

Harry couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face. "What can I say? I like to be a tease."

Louis shook his head and chuckled before stepping forward and grabbing Harry in a sweet kiss, his soft lips warm against Harry's. When they broke apart, he smiled. "How was your flight, love?"

"It would've been better if you were in the seat next to me. I needed someone to cuddle me so I could sleep," Harry flirted, not meaning to say the last part out loud.

"I could've used a cuddler too. The little old woman next to me just wasn't cutting it," Louis snickered. Harry let out a giggle and curled into Louis' chest in a sort of hug, squeezing him just a hair tighter than he had been. He really didn't want to let him go. "Someone's clingy when they're tired, yeah?"

"No," Harry responded, not letting loose on Louis.

He let out a laugh above him and gently pushed him off. "C'mon, baby. As much as I love canoodling outside in this heat, let's go up to yours. Then we can cuddle all you want."

Harry felt himself blush and he grabbed Louis' hand, leading him back into the parking garage. The walk back to the lift seemed shorter than the original walk. Harry chalked it up to the fact that he had just been excited about seeing Louis, so it seemed like time just drug on. But now that he was with him, everything was back up to pace again. It blew his mind that he couldn't stand Louis just a week prior. Now that he had given him a chance, Harry couldn't imagine being that way again.

"So, other than cuddling, what do you want to do? Would you like to order in? Or I could make us a gourmet meal of macaroni and cheese," Louis suggested.

"Gourmet mac and cheese? That would beat any take away that I've ever had," Harry smiled.

"Mac and cheese it is then," Louis smiled.

When they walked into Harry's apartment, Wade was leaning against the back wall. Harry stopped in his tracks, not sure of why his landlord would be there. He had paid his rent on time, he'd made sure of it. Wade stood there, looking between him and Louis, no expression on his face.

Harry took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in his throat. "Nice to see you, Wade. Did you not get my rent payment? I told Tucker that he needed to give it to you immediately."

"No, no, I got your rent. I was just stopping by to welcome you back home and tell you the rundown of what happened with that Tomlinson fellow while you were away, but I see that he decided to do that for me?" Wade explained to him. He stepped forward, sticking out his hand towards Louis. "Nice to meet you, sir."

"Likewise," Louis responded, completely unaware of what he was talking about.

"Harry, your manager told me that I was to keep this man off the premises and if he were to show, to call the police and her right away," Wade deadpanned, looking at them blankly. "What's going on here?"

Harry was scrambling trying to come up with some lame excuse, but his mind was blank. That was when Louis came in and saved him. "It's my fault, sir. I had contacted him and met him around back by the garage because I wanted to apologize for my actions. I didn't follow him or force him to let me talk to him. Please, don't get him in trouble for this. I shouldn't have come."

"Harry, is he telling the truth?" Wade asked in a way, making Harry feel like he was being interrogated by his step father. He nodded, not being able to speak. Wade turned to Louis. "It's quite alright. I won't tell anyone this happened, but please, when Harry asks you to leave, do. I don't want to have to call the police and attract hordes of those damn paparazzi guys because of you."

"It won't be a problem at all, sir," Louis responded with a tight smile.

"Thanks for checking up on me and everything, Wade. I appreciate it," Harry finally spit out, his shoulders losing their tension.

Wade exited the apartment, an awkward silence filling the air. It was mostly on Harry's end as far as the awkward part went, but he couldn't help but feel that way. Louis wasn't completely aware that Ellie had went to those extreme measures and now he was. It made Harry feel bad because he no longer felt threatened by Louis.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't want you to find out," Harry exhaled, looking at Louis in the eye.

Louis quirked his eyebrow. "Find out about what?"

"Basically, that Ellie is ready to throw you in prison if you're around me," he clarified.

"Oh, I had an idea that she was anyway," Louis shrugged. He stepped forward and grabbed Harry's hands. "You don't need to apologize, love."

"I do because it wouldn't be this way if I wouldn't have had such a stick up my ass after Ireland," Harry apologized, feeling so guilty for all of the shit that was preventing them from being out in the public with his boyfriend.

"It's completely fine, H. I did come on a little stronger than I should've and you had every-" Louis explained, squeezing his hands.

"No, no, no! I shouldn't have told Ellie and I shouldn't have left. I just shouldn't have made such a big deal out of it. I should've just owned up to the fact that I had had a one night stand with someone that I barely knew and quit thinking into it so much. I'm so uptight sometimes, I can-" Harry rambled, but was cut off by Louis squashing their lips together. Just as he began to kiss him back and fall into the comforting feeling, Louis pulled away from him.

"Did you find that interruption necessary?" Harry asked, not wanting to let Louis know that he actually enjoyed it.

"I did since you wouldn't shut up," Louis told him. "I'm not mad at you about anything. I understand why you reacted the way that you did. Besides, that's in the past. We're together now and you're not trying to throw me in prison or anything of the sort anymore. Well, your manager is, but that's besides the point."

Harry gave him a small smile, his guilt lifting just the slightly. He was happy that Louis wasn't upset about Ellie's protective measures or that it was his fault that they had to sneak around. Harry didn't know anyone else who would have gone along with such strict and dangerous sneaking around. Risking a lawsuit just to be with someone? Harry didn't deserve someone like him. 

\----


	16. Chapter 16

Louis wasn't going to let Harry know, but with him gaining more information about how guarded Ellie has Harry, he was about ready to punch a hole in the wall. The entire point of him getting with Harry was for them to be able to flaunt their relationship publicly. He was slightly mad at Harry because it  _was_ because of him that they had to walk on eggshells. If he would've acted like a normal human being about the consequences of a one night stand, well, they wouldn't be in the predicament that they were. He also didn't think that he would have to fear a fucking lawsuit from some batshit crazy manager.

"Are you okay, Louis?" Harry suddenly asked, appearing in the doorway of the bedroom, a concerned expression on his face.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm okay. Why?" Louis asked, replacing what he assumed was a scowl with a smile.

"You looked like you were angry," he responded.

_I am, you twit,_  Louis thought to himself.

However, he just shook his head and set down the picture frame he was holding. "I'm not mad. Just a bit tired. There's no reason to be upset. I'm alone with you."

As much as Louis was frustrated with how his plan was getting altered, he knew that he needed to act like nothing was going on. Thank God he was an actor. He went over to Harry, wrapping his arms around the submissive boy's neck, planting a sweet kiss on his lips. Harry responded to it, looking at Louis with his big doe eyes after they broke apart.

"I have a meeting with Ellie tomorrow morning, by the way," Harry told him.

"Tell her to drop her lawsuit idea, yeah? I want to walk around with you," Louis said with a teasing smile.

"I would, but I don't think she'll buy it. She doesn't like to listen to me," Harry expressed.

"We'll make her listen," Louis said, grabbing Harry's lips with his own.

Louis could tell that Harry wasn't going to try and challenge Ellie's authority. He wasn't the kind of person that really liked conflict, especially when it came to someone that had such a close impact on him. That was aggravating in Louis' mind because he would personally tell her where to go. Granted, Louis was the opposite of Harry in that aspect, being that he was a bit hot-headed.

"You want me to just tell her to leave everything alone and then we're caught out on a date?" Harry asked, looking at Louis with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, that's the point. Who cares what she thinks about it?" Louis told him, a smirk on his face as he snuck in another kiss.

Harry pulled away, looking at Louis with an insulted expression on his face. "I care. She helps me with my career, Louis. I can't have her angry with me or she'll quit on me. I don't want that. She's been a close friend for a few years now. If she found out that we've been dating behind her back, she'd go nuts. I think I'm her only friend. I can't just betray her like that."

"You don't have to tell her that we've been in a relationship. We'll just give it a few days before we go out in public," Louis told him, hoping that would help to ease him into the idea.

"Yeah, but it would be too coincidental. I go to her office and tell her to forget about everything having to do with you and to saddle up her hounds and then show up on a date with you somewhere a few days later? She isn't stupid, Louis. I'm hurting her enough as it is. I'm not going to build up more lies when I don't know if this relationship is even going to go anywhere," Harry explained to him.

Louis was silent. Hearing that Harry actually had doubts about their 'relationship' made him even more frustrated. He let go of Harry's shoulders. "You don't think this relationship is going anywhere? Are you actually joking, Harry? After all of this bullshit, you're just going to up and end it randomly. Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

"No, Lou, I just...you can't be sure-" Harry started, but was cut off by Louis' anger.

"Can't be sure?! Of what?! I am risking my arse for you! Your darling little manager is threatening to sue me for all that I'm worth if I even breathe in your direction! I wrote a fucking song about you and I flew my ass all the way to fucking Spain to be with you! And you're still unsure. That's fucking great, Harry. Fucking great to know," Louis hissed.

Harry looked at Louis with a hurt expression, obviously not expecting the eruption from Louis. "Louis, I...I don't mean-"

"Fuck what you mean. Don't try and go back on your words. If you didn't feel that way, you wouldn't have fucking said it," Louis snapped. He pushed past Harry and took off towards the front door.

"W-where are you going?" Harry asked, his voice cracking.

"Leaving," Louis snapped. He wrapped his hand around the cold door knob and turned around to look at Harry before leaving. "Don't worry, I'll storm out so Wade doesn't think we were actually getting along in any way shape or form."

Harry opened his mouth and started speaking something but Louis slammed the door shut and was already halfway down the stairs before he could finish. Louis felt stupid for blowing up on Harry like that, but he was so flustered and angry that he couldn't help it. The last thing that he needed to throw a wrench in his plans was an argument, but when he was being faced with Harry not knowing if he wanted their 'relationship' to last so they could be out in public on top of all the other stresses he was facing with the beard dilemma, arguing and erupting was the only defense mechanism he could think to use.

As he walked through the lobby, Wade and the receptionist were sitting behind the front desk, both of them watching him like a hawk. It made Louis slightly uncomfortable, but he knew that they were just doing it because they were instructed to by the she-beast. Instead of storming out like he had told Harry, however, he smiled and gave them a small wave, acting as though nothing was wrong. This whole thing with trying to get Harry as his boyfriend was a game, so why not involve a few other people in the round?

\----

_"So, you're telling me that you got into a fight with the man that you've been trying to get under your relationship wing for months, all because he spoke the truth?"_ Justin restated, appalled at what Louis was telling him.

"I honestly have no idea why you're so shocked by it. He may have spoke the truth, but fuck, he can't feel like that. I need him to feel like we're going places," Louis expressed. "I need him to talk to his manager and tell her that we're a thing so she can grow a pair of brass ones and live with it."

_"Louis, you can't be pissed at him for not wanting to go public right away like you want to. You have to remember that you put a lot of bullshit on this. People that give a fuck are aware that he wanted nothing to do with you. It's a little strange if you two suddenly come out as an exclusive couple,"_ Justin expressed.

Louis rolled his eyes. "It's been weeks since anything has come out. Besides, I released my single and made it obvious that it was about him."

_"It doesn't matter, Louis. The fact of the matter is that Harry's not ready to be out yet. You can't be mad at him,"_ Justin told him.  _"It's a matter of timing. If you don't want to fuck up your twisted agenda, you're going to have to let Harry decide when it's time to come out."_

"It shouldn't matter! He's already out as gay, so what's the big deal?!" Louis exclaimed, collapsing onto the hotel couch.

_"The big deal is that it's his choice. You made the choice that you were ready, he gets to have the same choice. When he tells you that he's ready, then you can parade around all the fuck you want. Sure, it's not going according to your plan, but you're going to have to go with the flow. It's not going to ruin anything, Louis. If you didn't fuck everything up, you two will come out in no time,"_ Justin continued explaining.

"You don't understand. Harry's a pussy. He's so terrified of talking to Ellie about things that challenge her. It's fucking annoying," Louis scoffed.

_"Really? How do you know that? How many situations have you seen him in that challenge her beliefs? Just this one? Well, that makes sense if he's a bit frightened by it because you were harassing him and Ellie has an obvious bias towards you. She's ready to drop the lawsuit on you because you're messing with someone that she cares about and also someone that helps her earn her living. Wouldn't you act the same way if you were in her shoes?"_ Justin challenged.

"God dammit, Justin. I didn't call you to be Devil's advocate. I'm not going to sit here and listen to you try and tell me how I'm the one that's wrong," Louis snorted, growing more and more frustrated at Justin's claims.

_"Whatever, Louis. I know you're just mad because you know that I'm right. But you go ahead and continue being pissed. I hope this doesn't fuck everything up for you, but knowing your track record, it probably will,"_ Justin responded.  _"Have a good night and don't call me again until you quit acting like a little bitch."_

Louis ended the call, the last words that had come out of Justin's mouth leaving a bitter taste in Louis'. The part that pissed him off the most was that Louis knew Justin was aware that he got to him by saying that. The whole thing was fucked. There was no reason that Harry couldn't talk to Ellie. It wasn't like it was unheard of for someone that previously disliked another to fall for them. Plus, Harry's pretty and Harry's single. She has to be prepared that he's going to eventually date. Why not get her good and warmed up with his and Louis' relationship? It's not like they'd be together for long anyway. It wasn't like Louis was planning on marrying him. Harry was a beard and nothing more.

Deciding to let his brain breathe, Louis threw his phone to the side and clicked on the footie game. It felt like it had been ages since he had gotten to just sit down and watch a game. He'd either been plotting on what to do next with Harry or chasing after Harry. It was finally a dream come true - sitting on a couch with nothing to do but watch a game.

The only thing that was missing was someone there watching it with him.

\----


	17. Chapter 17

It had been a week since Louis had stormed out of Harry's. He had tried to contact him, apologize for what he said and try to explain what he had meant, but he didn't get a response. The last thing that he wanted was for Louis to be upset with him. Granted, he did understand why Louis would be a little mad at what he said. It wasn't really fair for him to say that he didn't know if the relationship would last and he could've phrased it better, but at the same time, he didn't know how.

Harry had an overwhelming urge to go to Louis' doorstep and demand that he listen, but the problem was that Harry didn't even know if he was still even in London. He felt comfort with the thought of him being in close proximity to him rather than him being in L.A., but he wasn't so sure if that was the case. Louis seemed like the impulsive type and just ran away from problems when they arose. There was only one option that he could do and that was to get Justin involved, but at the same time, he didn't want him to be in the middle of their fight. It wasn't fair to throw that weight on him anyway.

However, Harry figured there was no other way without contact with Louis.

"Hey, Justin," Harry greeted softly, glad he caught him during a reasonable hour of his day.

_"Hey, Harry. Our conversations are getting more frequent. Louis better watch out,"_ Justin chuckled.  _"What's up?"_

"Yeah, they are. I hate how they always revolve around something negative happening with Louis, though," Harry admitted.

_"What happened?"_ Justin asked, sounding genuinely concerned. It gave him comfort that he was treating him like a friend rather than just an acquaintance.

"I hate to bother you with this because you don't deserve the stresses of it, but I don't know who else to talk to," Harry expressed. "We got into a fight about a week ago. I was stupid and told him that I didn't want to come out to yet because of all the shit with Ellie and that I wanted to make sure the relationship was going somewhere. He got extremely mad at me and stormed out. I knew I shouldn't have said it and I could've said it differently, but it just came out. I've tried getting ahold of him, but he won't answer me or will just leave me on read. I only called because I was worried about him and our standing. Is he even in London yet?"

_"Yeah, he's still in London. He's not too fond of me right now either because I sided with you after he explained it to me. I stopped by his place yesterday just to make sure he wasn't home and he wasn't. The place was locked up and untouched like it has been since he left,"_ Justin explained to him.

"Wait, you agree with me? I thought I was foolish," Harry told him.

_"I'm going to tell you the exact same thing I said to him. It's all with good timing that you two come out as a couple. You're the one that has to do the most explaining to people. He doesn't and he doesn't get that. You're also different than him by quite a long shot. While he's hot headed and impulsive, you're not. You;re reserved and think shit through, which is completely fine. In fact, he needs someone like you to keep him in line and tone him down a little bit. He made the choice that he's ready to come out as a couple and you made the choice that you're not ready yet. In this case, he's going to have to compromise and wait until you feel that it's a good time. It'll happen, just maybe not according to his plan,"_ Justin explained to him.

"You're right. I just wish he wasn't mad at me. I feel really bad for sending him into a fit of anger like that. I don't want to drop everything and come out together when my manager would most likely be that person and sue him just because she's hurt and pissed that I lied to her like that," Harry continued, letting Justin's words sink in.

_"Understandable. Maybe warm her up to the idea? Ask her if she'd be mad and if she's fine with it, tell her that you've been in cahoots with each other and you're considering giving him a chance,"_ Justin suggested.

Harry thought about it for a second. It was a good way to go about it. "What if she's completely against the idea?"

_"Well, I was being optimistic, but if you want to be a pessimist,"_ Justin teased.  _"If she's not okay with it, press her as to what she would do if you guys were a thing - like you are. Don't push her to the limit of actually suing him. Just try to warm her up to the idea."_

"Okay...hopefully all goes well. I just don't want him to be mad at me anymore," Harry said for the millionth time.

_"He'll cool off eventually. But don't feel that you need to go public or anything like that to win his affection. He's an asshole, but he's not that big of one,"_ Justin warned.

"I'm not going to. I know that it would backfire in my face if I was stupid enough to do that," Harry chuckled. "If you hear from him, can you tell him that I want to talk to him?"

_"Definitely. Anything you need, I can try to help you with. That's my job as your best friend-in-law,"_ Justin told him.

The call ended, leaving Harry not feeling any better than he was before he had even made the call. He was hoping for some more leads from Justin as to where Louis was at, but lo and behold, there weren't any. He had an assumption he was at a hotel nearby, but lord only knows.

\----

Harry walked into the office building, gripping the strap of his cross-body bag like it would save his life. He was beyond nervous. He was going to take Justin's advice about telling Ellie what was going on with Louis, but he wasn't going to full on tell her since they still weren't talking. Even after several times calling him the night prior, Harry still couldn't get ahold of Louis.

He was nervous about talking to Ellie because she wasn't dumb. The thing that he was most afraid of is her catching onto his secret agenda. She was a clever person and not a lot was able to slip by her. He had to say it in a hypothetical sense, which wouldn't be that hard if he wasn't a horse shit liar.

"Harry, what are you doing here?" the receptionist asked, obviously surprised to see him. "It's your day off from shooting and meetings, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but I needed to talk to Ellie about some things," Harry told her.

"By the look on your face, I'm going to guess it's about that Louis character?" she wondered, looking worried. She didn't give a fuck about Harry. She'd been faking her way to try and get in his pants since he first signed on. Even after he had come out as gay.

"No, it's nothing really. Just a few business offers I've received," Harry lied. She didn't need to know the truth.

"Oh, okay. Well, I think she's meeting with someone now, but I'll let her know you're here, so go ahead and go up to her office," the receptionist told her. "It's great to see you."

Harry just nodded in her direction, not wanting to give her anything to go and gossip to her friends about later. Ellie's office was on the top floor of the building, so it would be a bit of a trek to get up there. Thankfully, she had time to prepare for his visit and get out of a meeting or quit what she was doing until he got there. The lift was always his favorite part because the walls were an aquarium. It was rather boujee if Harry had anything to say about it. It was also relaxing. Made the ride go quicker.

Once the lift dinged, signifying that he was on the top floor, he took a deep breath in. This was it. He couldn't fuck this up. He didn't want to leave her with the fear that Louis might get sued or the fact of Ellie hating his guts because she figured out that he had been lying to her. It was a thin line that he had to walk and he didn't have any room to take the wrong steps.

The door to her office was closed, which was odd since she always had it open. Harry figured that her meeting with whoever just wasn't over yet. Just as Harry was going to have a seat in the waiting chairs outside of the room, the door opened and out emerged Louis, causing Harry's jaw to drop.

"Louis? What the hell are you doing here?!" Harry asked when it finally sunk in.

"Oh, hey, Harry. Just doing what you should've done weeks ago," Louis scoffed and continued walking.

Harry looked at Ellie, an unreadable expression on her face. Would Louis actually do that?! Harry turned and ran after him, fully preparing on chewing him out and breaking up with him for good. There was no way he was going to put up with that shit. It just wasn't going to happen. He knew Louis was impulsive and reckless, but he didn't think that he would go to the extreme of outing Harry and exposing his lies like that.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Harry snapped, grabbing Louis' shoulder and turning him around. He was actually surprised at his own strengths.

"I told you," Louis responded, his eyes filled with arrogance rather than affection.

"I can't believe you would fucking do something like that! I didn't mean what I said! I think the relationship will work, I just wanted to make sure because we're making ourselves public to so many people! It's not just a few blokes around school, Louis! We're public figures and people know our little history! Not to mention that I have been lying and betraying some of my closest friends. Just so I could be with you," Harry bitched, tears stinging the back of his eyes. He let his shoulders slump. "I trusted you, Louis. I wanted to be with you, but now...I want nothing to do with you."

Harry pushed past Louis, not caring if he had anything to respond to him with. He didn't even bother turning around and going back to Ellie's. There was no way that he could face her. He felt disgusted - not only with Louis, but himself. This was not at all they way that he wanted the news of his first relationship to go. He didn't want the threat of lawsuits riding on it or the publicity or the lying. It wasn't at all what he asked for. He just wanted to be normal. He wanted to live a normal life and date normal people without fears or worries or pressures of someone watching their every move.

But he couldn't be that anymore.

His name was plastered in the press too much now, thanks to his friendship with Kendall, his shebacles with Louis, and his Marie Claire shoot. There was no turning back. He was stuck being in the spotlight until his looks faded into a wrinkled and disgusting mess. Maybe he could hide from the world for the rest of his life in a small remote forest. He was pretty good at falling off the grid if he wanted to. It seemed that that was what he was going to have to do.

The Uber driver looked at him confused as he crawled into the backseat of the car so soon, but he didn't ask any questions other than where they were going, in which Harry responded home. Even his home didn't feel like home anymore. Louis had contaminated it. Everywhere he looked, he thought of how Louis fucked him over. He hadn't been in a relationship with him that long, but he had been in it long enough to have fallen for him and to give his trust to him. It was stupid of Harry to have done that so quickly, especially when he wasn't the type to. However, it just felt right. Louis made it so it felt like he could trust him. By how he acted and how much he pined after him and just how he treated Harry like he was his prince. It made sense to give all of his trust to him. There were absolutely no signs that he would even want to hurt him.

But then another thought had occurred to him. Did Louis realize how much this would hurt Harry or was he of the thinking that Harry just needed a little push and he was going to help him with that?

It still wasn't excusable or justifiable, but it made sense. Louis was out for himself a lot of the time. Well, at least from what Harry has observed about him. By him giving this "push," he was of the thinking that he was some sort of hero and now that he saw Harry's reaction to it, he was confused as to why he was being made out to be the bad guy when he was supposedly trying to help.

Instead of feeling enlightened by that revelation, Harry just felt more sad and infuriated. Who in their right mind would think that telling someone that they don't even know that their best friend and client had been lying to them was in anyway helpful? Harry answered his own question: someone who wanted things to go their way. It wasn't fair. Louis didn't deserve Harry and Harry didn't deserve what was done to him.

It was the first guy who really showed an interest in him for who he was and he was dumb enough to along with it, only ending up hurt. He just wanted to have someone to love, someone to fill the void he had because he was so lonely.

It seemed that Harry was never going to get that, no matter how hard he tried.

\----


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNING: Louis is going to come across as a complete asshole in this chapter. This doesn't project my view about him at all. I think he's a sweet little muffin that would never act like this towards ANYONE. Also, I am not mocking sociopaths.

Louis knew that Harry was thinking the worst, obviously by the way he reacted. Part of him felt kind of bad because he knew that it was going to put Harry into a tailspin, but in the same breath, his open-ended comment to him was meant to be kind of a push for him to talk to Ellie. It was evil and wrong of him to say that, but he didn't regret it. Harry was of the thinking that Louis was mad at him over what he had said, which he still kind of was, but he was going to keep playing the game.

He hadn't even told Ellie about them dating. He didn't say a word about any type of relationship. She had heard his comment and was most likely confused by what he meant, but he didn't give half a fuck. She would put it all together when they were finally public with their relationship. But he didn't get a chance to explain that to Harry because he had flipped shit at him and stormed off like a child having a tantrum.

Would he have even explained it to him if given the chance? He didn't know. But he knew as soon as Harry was aware, he would feel like an absolute dumbass and then wouldn't think of Louis as such a monstrous person. It was falling into place, the plan was. He had a whole idea of what he wanted to happen. He was certainly walking on a tightrope and risking it all by being such a dickhead by playing these mind games, but he had a few tricks to redeem himself and he knew they would work. Harry was easily readable and predictable. Louis knew how Harry's brain would work when he put his plan into motion and he was going to get what he wanted.

Louis Tomlinson would no longer be viewed as a reckless and washed up actor - he would be a settled down, serious actor. With this, people would see that he's ready to get his career back and make a name for himself with a new reputation.

With that, he set down his glass of Scotch and walked over to the hotel's closet, picking out an outfit that would make him look as though he was disheveled and a little heartbroken like everything was 100 percent real and genuine. He was an actor. He was going to milk the role of "boyfriend" to the best of his abilities. Hell, he would nominate himself for an Oscar if he could.

He found a wrinkly hoodie that he had purposely left in a pile, along with an old pair of sweatpants. He ran his hands through his well-groomed hair, now looking like he was distressed. There was more things that he could do and he had been doing plenty of research on Youtube on how to execute it as realistic as he could. He went over to the plastic bag sitting on the ottoman by the door, grabbing out the two contouring palettes and brushes that he had picked up. He opened the fresh new makeup and swiped the brush through one of the colors, brushing it underneath his eyes. He was going to make it so it looked like he had bags under his eyes. Nothing too dramatic or extremely noticeable since Harry had seen him earlier, but just enough so he looked like he had lost a little bit of sleep.

Once he was finished, he examined his work in the mirror, a small smile gracing his face. It wasn't too bad for his first attempt. Granted, he did have a little experience from when he was on his TV show as well, but that had been ages ago and someone else did it. He just simply observed. He was just a fast learner was all.

He shoved his phone into his pocket along with his wallet. The good part about where he was staying was that it was in reasonable walking distance to Harry's apartment and being that he was just visiting unannounced, he didn't need to call a cab or an Uber. Plus a walk through the fresh air would do him good anyway.

The sky above him was a medium hue of indigo, the lights from the various billboards and city lights making it seem darker. If he would have been anywhere else in London, he would've been nervous about walking himself, but his route was a rather straight shot and there weren't too many shady looking characters around.

As he walked, he thought about what he was going to say and prepared it like a script in his head almost. He may have to ad lib to make it a little more believable, but it wouldn't be hard. Harry was too naive to the idea that Louis would fake anything. It was nice that he was so gullible, but part of Louis still felt a little guilty.

The Starbucks that Harry frequented as he got closer to Harry's humble home. He contemplated stopping in and buying the guy a cup of hot chocolate, but decided against it. That would've come off as too casual and he didn't even know if Harry was a hot chocolate guy. Plus, if Harry was going to be dramatic, that would just give him something to throw in Louis' face and he wasn't really looking to have blisters from scalding water on his face.

He cringed slightly at the idea, but then even more when he saw the glowing dial pad next to the door. He completely forgot that he was going to need to ring up to Harry's if he wanted to get inside. The whole point was for him to show up unexpectedly and have Harry not be prepared for it. There had to be someway to get around it. He could wait for someone to come out, but he honestly had never seen anyone but Wade, the guy behind the desk, and Harry leave the place. He was starting to wonder if anyone else had even lived there.

That's when his Plan B idea came into play. If he knocked on the window loud and long enough, the reception guy would eventually get sick of it and let him in. Sure, he would most likely interrogate him, but he could use the excuse that he forgot something at Harry's and just realized it now, even if it had been a week since he had last stepped foot in the place.

With a loose plan of action, Louis started to walk through the rock garden, but quickly turned around when he heard the front doors squeak open. He was a bit nervous, fearing that it would be Harry walking around, completely unaffected by what had happened. But instead, he was faced with someone who had just got done seeing Harry.

"Hey, can you hold the door open?" Louis called out.

Kendall turned around, facing Louis. "Oh! I didn't see you there!"

"Thank you," Louis thanked, starting to walk in, but Kendall stopped him. Of course.

"Hey, aren't you Louis Tomlinson?" she asked, looking at him quizzically.

Louis straightened up, pretending to be confident. "Yes, I am. And you're Kendall Jenner."

She giggled, giving him a quick body scan. "Yeah, I am. Do you live here?"

Louis' eyes widened. Was this bitch really that clueless? "No, I'm just going to visit someone."

Her drawn on eyebrow quirked. "Oh? Aren't you going to let them know you're here?"

He shook his head. "No, no. It's a surprise visit. Wanted to be a little romantic. I haven't seen him in a while."

"Aw, that's cute! Well, I assure you that whoever he is, he's going to be so surprised," Kendall smiled, not aware at all that he was talking about her best friend.

"I hope so. Do you live here?" he wondered, figuring that if he made a little more conversation, it would look less suspicious to her if she were to catch on at all.

"No, actually. I live across town. I was just visiting a friend. He had a really emotional day today and he didn't want to be alone, so I supplied some ice cream and pampering," she smiled. "Hopefully, he'll feel better soon."

"Yeah. Is everything okay?" Louis asked, wanting to play the same oblivious card that she was.

"He'll be fine. He just broke up with this shitty guy that he was seeing. Apparently, he went behind his back about something and he just flipped out on the shithead. After a little bit of moping, he'll be okay," Kendall told him. Louis nodded along, pretending like he didn't know who she was talking about. That was until she stepped closer to him and got a dark and threatening look on her face. "But if that shitty guy doesn't leave him alone, he'll be praying that he fucking did because I will  _ruin_ his fucking life."

Louis didn't say anything, completely taken aback that Kendall Jenner was threatening him. She had known that it was him the entire time and wasn't as dumb as she looked. Louis wasn't scared, he was just a little shocked. In a quick second, Louis toughened himself up, not wanting to look like a scared little boy because he wasn't. "And if his fake best friend doesn't butt her bitchy ass out of his fucking business, her dirty little secret will be exposed. Got it, bitch?"

Kendall stepped back, a stone cold look on her face. "Leave Harry the fuck alone. I  _will_ ruin you."

With that, she strutted off, swinging her hips as she walked towards the car waiting for her. Louis just rolled his eyes. He wasn't scared of a twig bitch like Kendall Jenner. She was all talk, no bite. She could threaten him all she wanted, but she wouldn't follow through with it. She wouldn't dare drag her name through the dirt - it might cause her to lose everything she thought she was entitled to.

Louis just continued in the building, not sparing a glance at the distracted desk boy. He was too absorbed in his comics to give a fuck who was walking through the lobby.

_What a good watchdog,_ Louis thought, rolling his eyes at the thought.

He decided to take the stairs, not wanting to wait for the lift to take him up. Plus it was only two flights. It wouldn't kill him to get a little bit of physical activity in. Once he was on Harry's floor, he started towards the direction of his apartment. He knew exactly which one was his. It was the only one that had a bouquet of pink flowers sitting on the little shelf with a custom sign that read "Styles" and the room number in front of. He wasn't the most subtle guy.

Louis took a deep breath, getting into character. He got a sad and stressed expression on his face and then brought his fist up to the door, rapping on it a few times. He stood there, waiting to hear shuffles coming from the other side, but got nothing. With a huff, he rapped on it again, this time a little harder than he had before.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Harry asked, his voice distant.

"Uh, I...I was just coming to see how you were doing," Louis stammered, a bit shaken at how Harry looked since he had seen him at the modelling agency. His hair was a knotted, unkempt mess. His eyes were beat red and puffy from crying, he assumed. The boy looked like a proper hot mess.

"Well, if you must know how I'm doing, my boyfriend has been ignoring me for the past week. Or should I say ex-boyfriend? And today, when he did finally talk to me, the first thing he said is that I should've done something weeks ago, referencing that he just betrayed my trust and did something I told him that I wasn't ready to do. Now he's standing at my door -" Harry sassed, coldness and anger laced in his sarcastic tone. He brought his fingers up, swiping beneath Louis' eye with his thumb and looking at it for a split second before continuing. "- wearing makeup, trying to make himself look sad. So, my day and my week has just been  _lovely._  Now that you know how I'm doing, you can go be a sociopath somewhere else."

Louis was lost for words, not at all expecting that to come out of Harry's mouth. And how did he know that he was wearing makeup? Was he catching on? "Harry, I-"

"I said goodbye, you deranged asshat," Harry snapped, slamming the door in Louis' face.

He just stood there for a minute, trying to wrap his head around what had just happened. Had Harry just told him off? That wasn't how it was supposed to work. Harry was supposed to be mad at him and then let him explain himself because he still wanted to be with him. Then they would kiss and makeup. That was how it was supposed to go. But Harry had literally just snapped at Louis and had no intentions of hearing him out. That was  _not_ apart of Louis' plan. Not at all.

Louis turned around, pretty sure that his mouth was dragging on the floor. He leaned his back against the cold wall, sinking down slightly. He had really blown it and this time. The thoughts that were racing around his head made his stomach do flips and tie itself in knots. He wasn't sure if he was more sick about his plan not working or the fact that he had actually lost Harry.

\----

Harry was pacing around the room. It had been two days since Louis had shown up to his door. He thought it had been two days. Sleep was a foreign concept to him at this point. He had been worrying himself sick about the recent events that he couldn't sleep at all. He hadn't had any human contact since he bitched Louis out. But there was one thing that was bothering him.

Why had he been wearing makeup under his eyes? He would understand if it were just concealer to hide the bags under his eyes, but it wasn't. It had been makeup to make it look like he  _had_ bags beneath his eyes. He had gone to the effort of making himself look like he was distressed and a bumbling mess when he really hadn't been. It confused Harry. What was the point of that? Was he trying to make Harry feel sorry for him? Because that wasn't going to work in the slightest.

It made Harry wonder if he had a secret agenda. Scared but wanting to think more into it, Harry plopped down on his couch as threw himself down the rabbit hole. What would Louis' secret agenda be? The feelings that he had expressed towards Harry since the beginning seemed to be genuine...or were they? He thought all the way back to Ireland.

Why had Louis been in Ireland in the first place? He remembered that he had woken up in Louis' hotel room and that he had been there with Justin. That was when the drama had started. He tried to recollect what reason Louis had given as to why he was in Ireland, but he couldn't remember him really stating one. There had been the lies he told Ellie about Justin having photoshoots when he hadn't. Why were they in Ireland? There was no reason for it. Justin didn't release an album or anything monumental that he would have to do loads of promo for.

His mind then drifted to the headlines that had amounted the day after they had met. They had been caught by paparazzi in the pub. Harry remembered being infuriated by it...because it had looked like it was planned. Justin wasn't there, Harry wasn't popular enough for someone to recognize him straight away and call...the only other popular person that had been there was Louis, but he didn't have a big enough status by himself to have paparazzi follow him around. It seemed a bit wishy washy because someone might have recognized him, but why did Louis pose?

He kept thinking, feeling like Shane Dawson researching his conspiracy theories. The song that Louis released, the not so subtle shout out during The Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw, the paparazzi outside of his building and Louis shouting about his undying love...it seemed that everything having to do with them was in the spotlight for the most part. Now Louis wanted to walk around, be seen going on dates and being an outed couple.

That's when a realization hit Harry.

Had Louis been using him all this time? His heart and stomach immediately dropped as he thought more about it and his anxiety started to rise. Just before they had met, Louis had been caught flashing the paparazzi. The only thing that Louis had been in the headlines for since his filming days years ago was all crazy and negative shit that he did. He was known as a party animal. The things that Ellie had said about him and even Kendall, they both told him that he was reckless and not to get involved with him. Louis Tomlinson had a bad reputation.

Harry swallowed the lump in his throat. For what Harry knows about himself, he has a good reputation. He's just a gay model that always promotes kindness and love. He hasn't been in the tabloids for anything negative other than any relationship rumors. He's built himself up on a positive platform. He was known as a good influence for young people to look up to. The people he surrounded himself with were good people. The famous people that were around him were looked at differently by his fans because Harry the nice guy was friends with them, which meant that they were actually good people. Harry felt an uneasy feeling wash over him as he came face to face with the thing that he was 100 percent sure was true.

Louis had been using him to make a better name for himself.

The words boomeranged around in his head and he started to feel dizzy. Harry got up and ran to the bathroom, heaving into the pristine toilet. When he was done, he slumped down between the toilet and the wall, resting his head back against the glass shower. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes. He thought he had been out of tears, but apparently he wasn't. He was hurt. He felt like a fool for believing that someone had feelings for him. He was hurt because the first person that he thought that he had had an actual chance with, someone that he thought genuinely liked him was just playing him like a fiddle.

There had been no actual feelings. Louis never meant anything he had said to him. Even the song that he had written for him was a complete lie. Everything Louis had ever done, all of the gestures that he had made, their beautiful date in Spain...Louis had faked it all. Louis had opened himself up to him on the rooftop in Paris; had he made that story up, just to get Harry to fall for him?

Harry cried, but he was getting more and more angry as the seconds ticked by. Louis had  _lied_ to him. Louis had  _played_ him. He made him feel like a damn  _fool._ He fucking  _used_ him. He made Harry lie to people that he loved. Had Justin been lying to him too? Did he know about this whole plan the entire time?

Nothing felt real to Harry anymore. He was second guessing everything.

\----


	19. Chapter 19

Louis was sat on his hotel balcony, one of the places that he went when he wasn't sacked on the couch. He stared tiredly out at the sun rising above the skyline, going on his umpteenth night of no sleep. He didn't even know why he was still in London anyway. His job was done. It was brought to an abrupt stop as soon as he had went to visit Harry. His plan for his reputation to be changed by a relationship with a well-rounded individual was abolished. Why wasn't he at home, back in Los Angeles?

It had been upwards of two weeks since everything ended. He hadn't heard hide nor hair from Harry. There wasn't any posts on his social media or any news in the tabloids. Harry had blocked him on Snapchat and locked his Twitter direct messaging, making it so he couldn't contact him personally. Sure, there was Instagram direct message, but Harry didn't check those. Nobody did. Besides, Instagram was the only thing that he wasn't blocked on. It was his only source to all things Harry now.

With a sigh, Louis slid a cigarette out of the box on the table next to the chair. He never smoked cigarettes as much as he had in the recent days. Social smoking was really the only excuse he ever had, but now, it was stress smoking. Why did he feel so defeated?

His phone began vibrating in his pocket. He was tempted to let it go to voicemail like he had with every other call that he had received, but when he read that it was Justin's name, he figured he should answer. The boy had called him over a hundred times.

_"Where in fuck have you been?!"_ Justin yelled on the other side.  _"I've called you at least two hundred times and you refused to answer. The least you could've done was send me text and tell me that you weren't dead in a ditch or something."_

"Are you done lecturing me?" Louis sighed, his voice cracking as he spoke.

_"What the hell's wrong with you? Are you sick or something?"_ Justin quizzed.

"No. I haven't spoke to anyone in a couple of weeks and I just had a smoke," Louis told him. "What do you need?"

_"I just wanted to know if you were okay. I hadn't heard from you for a long time and just wanted to know that you were still alive,"_ Justin explained to him.  _"Also, I wanted to know if everything was okay between you and Harry. He had called and asked where you were. He wanted to talk to you, but I didn't know how else to get him connected to you since you weren't answering your calls."_

Louis felt himself perk up for the first time in ages. "What did you tell him?"

_"That you were still in London most likely. I didn't know where you were staying, so I just said that it was probably close to his place,"_ Justin told him.  _"Are you two still fighting?"_

Louis ran back into the house, a surge of electricity running through his veins. He ran to the clothes, ripping down one of the last shirts that he had hanging up. He was halfway out the door, prepared to go to Harry's, before he spoke again. "Um, kind of. But if he asked about me, that's definitely a good sign, right?"

_"Considering that happened two weeks ago, I don't know. He hasn't really inquired about you since then,"_ Justin told him.

Louis stopped in his tracks, standing in the middle of the hotel hallway. If someone were to see him, they would ask him if someone passed away by the look of hopelessness on his face. His voice cracked and came out hushed, sounding like an old recording. "He asked two weeks ago?"

_"Yeah. I haven't heard from him since then, so I assumed that he found you. I would've told you sooner, but you wouldn't respond to me,"_ Justin replied.  _"Are you okay, Louis? You sound upset."_

Louis couldn't find words. He wasn't okay, but he didn't want to tell Justin that because he didn't want to face the hours of interrogation. He sniffled in, feeling like he had just been struck straight in the gut. "Y-yeah. I've got to go. I'll call you later, yeah, mate?"

_"You better mean that and not leave me questioning whether or not you-"_ Justin was saying, but Louis cut him off by ending the call.

It wasn't that big of deal that Harry hadn't asked about him in two weeks. At least, it shouldn't be. Though, for some ungodly reason, Louis felt torn apart and was making it a bigger deal than it was. He leaned up against the wall of the hotel and slid down, looking up at the ceiling, wondering what the hell had been happening to him. He didn't know why he was so torn up. Why he felt such hurt and shame.

He had used Harry. That was all that he had planned on doing. His feelings for him were fake. Sure, the guy was a good lad and didn't deserve to be messed with, but at the same time, he wasn't anyone that Louis would go for normally. Harry was too innocent and well-behaved for Louis. He wanted someone that was just as reckless as him, someone who had balls to defy their management for fuck's sake. Harry wasn't that.

Louis wouldn't have even wasted his time being friends with him if circumstances were different. All that he was to Louis was a good fuck. That was really the only highlight that Louis saw in him. They were from similar worlds, but they were definitely two different people. Louis was pretty sure that the most daring thing that Harry had ever done in his life was harboring Louis in his hotel room while they were in Spain.

He tried to come to conclusions that he was so upset because he let his one chance at redeeming himself go and get ruined. It was technically his fault and he should've never taunted Harry like that. Were there other people that Louis could use as a beard? Yeah, there were, but Harry would've been perfect for him. He had gone through so much effort already to try and get the guy to fall for him. Sure, he had succeeded, but he had gone and fucked it all up.

That was something that he was much too good at. Everything that went his way, he somehow found a way to fuck it up royally. Kyle had always told him that and Louis tried to ignore it because he thought that he was just a dick. But it turned out that he was right. He was a fuck up that didn't deserve a second chance at acting or even a first chance at singing. He couldn't sing anyway. He had literally put his shitty voice out there, just to win Harry over.

He snorted, thinking back at all the sacrifices that he had made in order for this damn plan to work and he regretted every single one because of the outcome. He almost got sued for Christ's sake. He would never do that again. Another thing that he almost fucked up. He almost fucked up his entire life and got sued for all he was worth. Was he being dramatic? Probably not. That bitch was so protective of Harry and petty, Louis wouldn't doubt that she would milk him for everything he had.

It wasn't that he was feeling lost without Harry. Not in the slightest. He was upset that his dumb ass went into this half-cocked, thinking he knew exactly what he was doing when he, in fact, did not. As much as he didn't want to, the only choice that he had for any chance at redemption was to lay low. Not mention Harry, try not to be seen out in public by the paps, nothing like that. In a couple months, he could try the beard thing again with more knowledge and most likely someone that wouldn't make it so damn hard on him.

\----

Louis was zipping up his suitcases after stuffing all of his clothes and belongings that he had brought along. His flight back to Los Angeles was right away the next morning at ten. He knew that he had to get out of London. There wasn't a use for him there anymore. After thinking about everything that had happened and giving himself a pep talk that clarified why he was so upset, Louis felt better. He had a different attitude about himself and didn't feel so worthless. His ego was still a little bruise from the incident that had happened at the apartment building, but he wasn't going to think about it or the person who did it or anything relating to it ever again. It only made his anxiety rise and got him riled up, second guessing whether or not he was doing the right thing or how he was actually feeling.

Since he only had about sixteen hours left in London, Louis decided that he'd spend it out. Not necessarily drinking or being reckless. That didn't fit with his plan of staying lowkey. Instead, he would just wander the streets and find things to do like go in shops that they didn't have over in the states or maybe hit up a movie. Hell, maybe he'd even go on the London Eye for the tenth time in his life. The view never got old anyway.

It felt good to freshen himself up. He had showered, shaved himself so it didn't look like he had been without a razor for that long, and even styled his hair. It was as though he was a completely different person. Well, he also didn't want to look like a proper mess if the paparazzi were lingering. He needed to stay lowkey, but he didn't need to look like shit while he did it.

The city was buzzing with life as he walked out into the world. It might not have been that much different from any other night, but he hadn't been outside for a couple of weeks, so it was alive to him. He felt a little weird that he was going out without having any idea of where to go or just by himself. It wasn't really like him to go out by himself. He was always surrounded by Justin and a group of people that claimed to be friends with them.

He started in the familiar direction towards a certain part of town, but quickly stopped when he realized that it would only bring unwanted memories to light. So, he turned around and decided to go a different route. Who knew, he might find something completely off the wall.

But that wasn't the case. He found a few cinemas on his walk around, but the queue was so long and Louis just didn't have the time or patience. It also didn't help that the one movie that he wanted to see was the one that everyone else wanted to see. He kind of wanted to be alone and being in a packed room wasn't the way to do that. He ended up finding himself going into a Starbucks. It surprisingly wasn't full of people like it usually was.

_Probably because they're all at the cinema,_ Louis thought to himself, letting out a scoff.

He stood at the place to give his order, waiting for the barista to finish what she was doing. He looked around, wondering why all Starbucks looked like they were the same building. He found it kind of odd. It was an easy floor plan for the contractors, but why not make them all just a hare different? Give them their own flavor.

"Hi, what can I get for you?" the barista asked turning around, a bright smile on her face. "Hey, you're Louis, aren't you? Wondered when I'd see you around here again."

Louis quirked his brow at her, confused as to where they had met before. "I'm sorry?"

"You probably don't remember me. I'm Zoey. You had ordered the two coffees a while back and had me hold them until Harry Styles came in," she clarified.

"Oh," was all Louis said.

"Yeah, he's a friend of mine. He comes in every morning when I'm working. It's a nice friendly face at that hour of the day," she giggled, not taking the hint that Louis didn't want to chit chat. "He actually hasn't been in for a while. I think he's fine, but I just miss him, you know? You don't realize how much a customer makes your day until they quit coming."

"Yeah, that's true," Louis agreed.

"So, I'm assuming that you want two beverages again?" Zoey asked, grabbing two medium sized cups.

"No, um. I just wanted one caramel latte," Louis told her, trying not to sound awkward.

"Are you sure? Harry's can be on me, I wouldn't mind. You're in the neighborhood, might as well get him one," Zoey pressed, not taking Louis' no for an answer.

"I said I just wanted one," Louis said sternly. Zoey looked at him, surprised that he had snapped. "I'm sorry. It's just...Harry and I aren't seeing each other anymore."

Zoey's mouth twisted into an "o" as she gently put the extra cup back. "Alright, I'll get you one caramel latte. Sorry about that."

Louis didn't say anything because he felt so embarrassed that he had snapped at some girl that didn't know remotely anything about their fake relationship. She also seemed rather pushy with it anyway. There was no more conversation between the two before she handed off Louis' coffee with a small, slightly forced smile. He took it, nodding his head in gratitude, and left. He thought he would've been able to get a damn coffee without being reminded of  _him._

He continued walking down the sidewalk, looking at the sidewalk. The coffee warmed his body as the brisk breeze flowed around him. He didn't know what else to do. He didn't feel like doing anything - nothing seemed pleasing to him, especially since he was alone and the only people he knew or friends that he could call were either in Los Angeles or in Doncaster. Though he was pretty sure that his friends in Doncaster would laugh and hang up on him directly after he called. 

Maybe a walk would do him good. Just absorb the energy of everyone wandering about in the city. He needed all the energy that he could get, hence why he got the coffee. People he passed were in groups, wearing clothes that signified they were going out for a night of clubbing. He passed a group of two boys and four girls, two girls hanging on each boy's arms, all of them laughing and having a good time. It reminded him of when he would go clubbing with Justin and when he felt carefree. That was a feeling that sounded so foreign to him. It had been so long since he had been out clubbing without a care in the world. It was hard to believe that he once was that guy in that group, just laughing with his friends and forgetting the world's problems. He wanted to say that he missed it, but he didn't know if he did. He felt like he wouldn't enjoy it as much if he were to start doing it again.

That was when he looked up and his thoughts were interrupted by the simple visual of the apartment complex that was across the busy city street in front of him. He looked at it longingly, the building's outside lights shining against the gray bricks, making the place look like aesthetic and quaint. Louis searched the building, trying to place where Harry's apartment was. Being that he was looking at it from a different angle, he was able to see the back of the building where Harry's windows faced.

Louis rifled through his memory, visualizing the walk from the lift to Harry's front door. He was exactly two doors down. Louis counted the windows, finding where the divide between each apartment was. The shades were pulled, but the lights in Harry's bedroom were flicked on. Could he be in bed already? It wasn't that late. Louis kept watching, hoping that the boy would open the shades and he would catch a glimpse of him, but there was no such luck. The traffic light switched to the walk signal, causing for a hoard of people to start crossing the road. Louis was going to be one of them until he saw a silhouette in Harry's window. It was  _him._ Louis stopped in his tracks, just staring at him. He was stood to the side, fiddling with his hands a little bit. Louis tried to imagine what he was doing, how he was feeling but he couldn't think of anything. He hoped that he was doing okay. It was when he saw Harry's hands go up to his face that he knew he wasn't. Was he crying about what Louis did? He couldn't be. It's been two weeks. He's surely moved on by now. He was moving on from their farse of a relationship before it was even exposed.

But it still pained Louis.

"Move it, arsehole," some man grunted, pushing past Louis, shaking him from his trance.

Louis shook his head and crossed the road with the last wave of humans. He knew it was a bad idea, but he found himself walking towards the apartment complex.He didn't know why he was going there or why he was being so stupid, but he couldn't stop himself. It was like his brain didn't control his legs anymore. He knew in his mind that it would blow up in his face, but his determination was alarming.

His brain kept telling him that he wouldn't be able to get into the building, that he was just going to look like some creep watching from the outside. However, it seemed that he didn't care. Something in his brain just ached to see Harry again, to see if he was okay, to help dry his tears .Louis didn't know why. He was done with the guy. He didn't want anymore to do with him. He was no use.

Before he knew it, Louis was standing outside the front doors of the apartment building, looking inside at the boujee lobby. He saw the doorman sitting behind the desk, reading a magazine, like it seemed he always did. Louis brought his hand up, tempted to knock on the window to get his attention and have him open the doors. Then his eyes landed on the intercom system, the temptation of calling Harry overtaking his entire being. He took a few steps, bringing his finger up, pressing the button next to Harry's apartment number.

_"Hello?"_ Harry answered, his voice deep and sounding like he had a cold. Or had been crying.

"Delivery for Harry Styles," Louis lied, using an American accent to hopefully mask it.

_"I didn't order anything,"_ Harry responded.

"It's from someone named Kendall," Louis improvised. Would she send something to Harry? It seemed like she was the type of person.

_"Okay, I'll buzz you in,"_ Harry sighed, not sounding the least bit amused.

The door suddenly clicked with an unlocking sound. Louis felt his heart drop into his stomach as a bit of anxiety found its way into his limbs. He was about to go in and see Harry. As he walked in, the doorman looked up, a defensive look on his face.

"What are you doing here and how did you get in?" he demanded, ready to pounce on him from behind the desk.

"I'm visiting Harry Styles. Don't worry - he buzzed me in," Louis told him, not really worried about being booted since he was actually telling the truth this time.

"I highly doubt that. He gave us specific instructions to keep you out," the doorman snapped. "Wade!"

Wade came out from the back room, looking at Louis and dropped his shoulders. "Mate, why are you here?"

"Because I miss Harry, okay? I was an extremely shitty boyfriend to him and I can't take the guilt that's eating at me anymore. I need to see him," Louis breathed, sick of beating around the bush. It was implied to be a fake sob story, but to him, it didn't feel like that. It felt like the truth.

"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to leave," Wade told him.

"Harry buzzed me in. I didn't break in. Check your logs," Louis instructed. "I just want to apologize to my boyfriend. I want to be able to tell him the truth and tell him what a shitty person I am. After I'm done, you'll never see me here again. I promise you that."

Wade sighed and gestured to the doorman. He watched the computer screen and Louis just stood there awkwardly, his eyes brimmed with tears. They weren't brimmed with tears for what he was saying, but rather the fact that what he was saying was true. It wasn't a lie anymore. It wasn't this elaborate plan to right his reputation.

It was his true feelings.

He didn't realize just how much he fell for Harry. He kept telling himself that he didn't or wasn't going to, but he did. It just took him losing Harry to realize it. Even during the two weeks since they broke up, he denied his feelings. He didn't fall for people. His idea was that relationships were stupid and he would just get fucked over in the end. That had always been Louis' thoughts on it, yet here he was, wanting to be in a relationship with someone that probably wanted him dead.

"Okay, mate. You can go up there, but this is the last time you're allowed in here unless instructed otherwise," Wade interrupted his thoughts.

Louis nearly sprinted to the stairs. He wasn't going to take the lift - he was much too anxious and needed to talk to Harry. He needed to talk to him and tell him how sorry he was. Most importantly, he needed to tell Harry the truth about everything. It was only fair. It was what he deserved.

The hesitation set in when he was right outside Harry's door. It felt like a blockade preventing his arm from knocking. There was panic setting into Louis, not wanting to get the door slammed in his face. He didn't want to get rejected by Harry again. He just wanted to tell him everything.

He didn't even have to knock. Harry opened the door, wearing nothing but a pair of pajama pants. His long hair was tangled and wet, like he had just taken a shower. He looked so beautiful, even when he looked up at him with dark and hateful eyes.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

\----


	20. Chapter 20

Harry was appalled to see Louis standing at his door. He thought that he was rid of him once and for all. He was trying to move on from him and the hurt that he had felt. Just when he thought that he was making progress, the Devil himself was standing on the other side of the door.

"I knew Kendall wouldn't have sent me a package," Harry muttered. He sighed deeply, cursing himself for being so stupid. "I have nothing to say to you, Louis."

"I have things to say to you, Harry. I want to explain everything to you," Louis rushed out as Harry started to close the door.

"I don't care what you want, Louis. Whatever it was that was going on between us, it's over. I'm trying to move on with my life and move past... _you,_ " Harry sneered, not having the energy to listen to Louis whine to him and try to "win" back his heart for his games.

"Please, Harry. I know you probably hate me -"

"Probably?" Harry snorted.

"Okay, I know you hate me. But I need you to hear me out. I came to a few realizations today and I just...I need to tell you. My conscience won't be clear until I do," Louis begged.

"You are so narcissistic. You're trying to find a way to turn yourself into the victim, like you're the one that got hurt.  _You're_ the one that got lied to and got played.  _You're_ the one that got their feelings fucked around with. I'm not going to let you victimize yourself, Louis. You're  _not_ the victim here - I am. I'm the one that is dealing with the psychological damage that you caused. I'm the one that got their heart fucked around with. I'm the one that is going to have even bigger trust issues from here on out when it comes to relationship partners. I'm the one that has to suffer with long term effects. You're in the fucking clear. You're the one that caused the pain - you didn't receive it," Harry jabbed. He wasn't going to listen to him not take responsibility.

Louis opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it again. Harry knew that he would shut him up. He went to close the door, but for some ungodly reason, Louis decided to find his voice. "Harry, wait."

"Louis, I don't have-"

"I know that I fucked up, okay? I can explain everything. What I did was extremely terrible and fucking twisted, but I didn't realize just what kind of feelings I had for you until I lost you. Harry, I'm so sorry. I know you can never forgive me, but if you could just let me explain everything to you so you understand," Louis pleaded.

Harry was silent. He wasn't sure if he should give Louis another chance. Part of him told him to slam the door in his face and forget Louis Tomlinson ever existed, but the other part of him told him to listen to him. He was curious as to why Louis did what he did, the details, if he really did use Harry. The thing he wanted to know most, however, was why he ratted him out to Ellie. With a deep breath, Harry gave Louis a once over.

"I'm not doing this right now, Louis. If I wanted to, I would've asked," Harry said evenly and shut the door, locking it so Louis didn't follow him in. He was leaning towards giving the guy a chance to explain himself, but he wasn't going to just give in. Might as well fuck with him a little bit and keep him wallowing. It was only fair.

\----

Louis felt stupid. He should've known that Harry wasn't going to drop everything and forgive him, let alone listen to him. The boy was a gentle flower, one that Louis had stomped on and nearly ruined. Or maybe he did ruin him, like Harry had said. He bruised his trust. If anyone in show business knew how important trust was, it was Louis. The only person that he could ever trust to not take advantage of him or fuck him over was Justin. And Harry. He knew that Harry wouldn't fuck him over, he knew that he could get Harry to trust him, and he knew that Harry was too gullible to think otherwise unless otherwise prompted. Louis knew that Harry was one of the sweetest people in their world. Those were all the reasons that he chose him.

He was such a cold hearted asshole. The words that Harry had said, they were running on repeat in Louis' head. Every relationship that the boy had from there on out would be tainted. It would be harder for Harry to trust, for him to love, for him to open up. Louis forced Harry to build a wall around him, a thicker one. One that was going to be harder for the next guy to knock down.

Louis didn't deserve Harry. He didn't deserve a chance at redemption for his career. He didn't deserve love. Was he a narcissistic prick? Probably. It only made sense. Not once did he ever take into consideration how Harry felt or what Harry wanted. It was always what Louis wanted. His endgame was the most important, his goals were what needed to be achieved. He never really gave much of a shit about Harry's heart or the fact that he was breaking it the further they got into their relationship. Even their date on the rooftop - that was all about Louis. He made it that way because he knew Harry was a sucker for romantic shit. He opened up to Harry because he knew that it would get him to trust him.

Louis stopped where he stood. "I'm the shittiest person alive."

The feeling of uselessness and worthlessness washed over him. He didn't deserve anybody or anything because all he would end up doing is hurting them. That's what he was good at. He kept walking and looked up as he got underneath streetlights, finding himself at a club. If anyone deserved to be hurt, well, it should be himself.

He strolled up to the bouncers, hoping they would recognize who he was. Thankfully, they didn't second guess him at all and just let him past the velvet rope. The music was pumping throughout the large space, Louis feeling the beat deep in his core. It had been so long since he had been to one of these places. Just earlier, he thought he'd never be back, but times change. Since he was doing so good at ruining himself and his reputation, he might as well have a grand time doing it.

He didn't even know where to start. Did he start with dancing? Or grabbing a drink? When he used to go clubbing, he was the focus of the party - him and Justin were. Now he wasn't. He was flying solo, he was heartbroken, and he was sincerely depressed because he didn't know what the fuck he was going to do next. With that surge of energy going through his veins, he took off towards the bar. He needed something strong so he could drown his problems.

"Give me a two shots of vodka," Louis told the bartender.

"Straight?" he asked.

"No, gay." Louis sassed.

The bartender put his hands up in surrender and went off to pour the shots. Within two seconds, he was back with the shots. Louis grabbed them off the tray, one in each hand. He walked away from the bar a little bit and started going towards the packed dance floor. He took one shot, throwing his head back and letting the liquid slide down his throat, burning as it went. As soon as the first glass was empty, he automatically threw the second one down, the burning sensation just as strong as the last. When he was done, he shook his head, feeling the effects of the strong alcohol. It was a feeling that he had missed so much.

He placed the two shot glasses on a passing waitress' tray and took off down on the dance floor. He went over to where there was an attractive guy and started grinding up on him. That's what he needed to move on. He needed to get laid.

\----

When Louis woke up, his head was pounding like no other. He opened his eyes, immediately squinting when he saw the bright light shining in from the window. Slowly, he pushed himself up. There was a drool mark on the blanket that he had been passed out on. He looked around the room, trying to make sense of where he was through his spinning head as best as he could, but couldn't come to conclusions as to where he was. It wasn't the hotel - he would've recognized that straight away. Lifting the blanket, he saw that he was wearing his boxers. So, either he had fucked someone and covered himself up or he didn't do anything at all and just passed out in someone's guest room. Honestly, it wouldn't be the first time it's happened.

He swung his legs around the bed, sitting up with a groan. If there was one thing that he didn't miss about clubbing, it was the morning after. He squinted as he looked out the window at the scenery, the tops of buildings looking back at him. He was still in London, which was a good sign. Louis stretched his arms wide and a deep yawn escaped him. As soon as he finished, there was a shuffling behind him. Twisting around, he saw a woman standing in the doorway with a cup of tea in her hand, wearing Louis' t-shirt that was hanging dangerously high up on her thigh. Her hair was mused, looking like she had just gotten out of bed. A smirk was painted on her face as she looked at him, most likely in response to the 'oh shit' look that Louis was giving her.

"Morning, handsome," she greeted flirtatiously. "Wondered when you were going to wake up. Tea?"

"Uh, no thanks. Don't take this wrong, but wh-" Louis started, his voice raspy.

"Where are you and who am I?" she finished for him, walking farther into the room, sitting down on the other side of the bed.

"Yeah, I guess," Louis said with a half-hearted chuckle.

"Well, I'm Betty and you're at my place. We met at the club last night," she told him. "Don't worry. I'm not offended or anything. I didn't go to that club to meet my prince charming."

Louis continued looking at the girl, sure that he had seen her before, but couldn't place where. "Do I know you?"

"No, I don't think so," she responded.

He went back through his thoughts, trying to remember where he had seen her from. He looked around the room, trying to get any hints. He looked over at the nightstand, seeing his cell phone plugged in. He picked it up to check the time, but that was when he saw a business card with a familiar logo on. That's when Louis' eyes widened. "You work at Platinum Modeling?"

"Damn, I forgot that was over there," she muttered. "Yeah, I do. I'm the receptionist there."

Louis knew that he recognized her. His palms started to sweat and his anxiety levels started to rise. Was this a trick? Was Harry's management setting him up for something? Finding an excuse to sue him? He quickly stood up, not giving a shit about his hangover symptoms anymore. "We didn't do anything, did we?"

A smirk played at her lips. "What are you going to give me to tell them we didn't?"

Louis felt his stomach drop. Was she actually doing this? Was she telling the truth? He didn't know what to believe. "You're lying. Please tell me you're lying."

"What's wrong? Was I that bad?" she teased as she stood up, taking a few steps towards Louis and pulled puppy dog eyes.

"What do you want?" his voice cracked, defeat apparent in his tone.

She brought her perfectly manicured acrylic nail up and traced patterns on Louis' bare chest as she scanned his body. "I have all of the details about you and Harry, even ones that Ellie doesn't know about. If you want them to stay a secret, the price is going to double."

Louis' felt what was left of his paper heart break as he remembered the one person that he didn't want to hurt anymore. Harry. He had slept with someone that he was most likely friends with. Louis was pretty sure he was going to be sick. He sat down on the bed, willing to give her anything in order to keep those things secret. He didn't want to ruin Harry's life anymore than he already had.

"What the fuck do you want from me?" he asked, his stress and anxiety showing clearly through his tone.

"Get me a date with Harry," she prompted, without much hesitation. "He doesn't want a piece of shit like you. I think that's pretty apparent."

Louis looked up at her, shocked at her request. "No! You know he's gay, right?"

She crossed her arms. "He's just confused. I know he's not straight, but I don't think he's exclusively into men."

Louis looked around, feeling somewhat sorry for how naive this girl was. "Uh, yeah, I'm pretty sure that he's exclusively into men."

Her eyes narrowed and she spoke with gritted teeth. "Listen, if you want me to keep my mouth shut, you'll do as I say. If not, well, I'm sure the police would love to hear about how I got sexually assaulted last night."

"You wouldn't," Louis responded, his voice coming out in an exasperated gasp.

Betty went over to the other side of the bed, picking up her phone from the other nightstand, putting it up to her ear. She started sniffling, making herself sound like she was crying. "I need to report a sexual assault. Yeah, I was at the club last night where I was drugged and then brought back to someone's house and raped. His name is Louis Tomlinson."

Louis' mouth fell open. He never had to deal with something like that before. He couldn't believe that this girl was so ready to ruin his life over a date with a gay man. "You're...you're a crazy bitch."

"It was pretty good acting, yeah? Still wondering why I haven't gotten in a movie yet," she wondered, not thinking that any of what she was doing was wrong. "So, are you going to do it or do I have to make a call?"

"If you've been stalking Harry and I, you would know that we aren't seeing each other anymore. He banished me from his fucking apartment. How the fuck do you expect me to get you a date with him?" he asked, perplexed as to what he was going to have to do.

"If you care about not going to jail and also not getting your secrets leaked, you'll find a way," she prompted.

Louis didn't know what to do. He was lucky if he could get Harry to talk to him again. He had said so himself: he wanted nothing more to do with him. Maybe there was something more that he could offer. "Can I get you a date with Justin Bieber? He's a close personal friend of mine. I'm sure that he'd find you to be a lovely lady."

She snorted. "Disgusting. I said that I wanted Harry."

"Do you want money? I can give you money. I'll give you enough money, that you could quit your shitty job and you wouldn't have to worry ever again," Louis pleaded. Anything but him having to go back to Harry and ask him for this.

Betty rolled her eyes. "Stop acting like this is a fucking drug deal. I just want to score a date."

"You are  _threatening_ me!" Louis expressed.

"You make it sound so harsh," Betty said, her smirk not disappearing from her face.

"Because it is! Literally, I will do anything else except that. Harry won't even acknowledge that I'm alive anymore. He told me that he wanted nothing more to do with me. I want to grant that for him," Louis begged.

Betty's eyes darted around the room, Louis being able to see her gears grinding as she thought. Louis' palms were sweating as he tried to fathom what the next thing that she would request of him. "Tell Ellie about how you and Harry were together behind her back. Tell her every little detail."

Louis crinkled his brow. "That completely defeats the purpose of you keeping your mouth shut."

"I won't tell anyone that we slept together," she shrugged. "It's not much, but I don't think you'd want your sweet Harry to find out that little detail, now would you? After you pine after him and tell him that you won't be able to breathe without him. He would just  _love_ to know that you lied to him and slept with his receptionist and friend."

Louis rolled his eyes, sick of this girl's tactics. As much he didn't want to, he also didn't want to do the former. Harry might hate him for it, but what was the difference? He already did anyway. "Fine. I'll do it."

"Good," Betty said with an evil grin. "You have until today. Don't worry about telling me when you're done. I'll surely hear Ellie's eruption from my desk."

"You're sadistic," Louis scoffed. "Give my damn shirt back."

Betty's nose scrunched up and she quickly stripped it off, throwing it at Louis' chest. "You actually thought I was going to keep that ugly piece of shit? You wish."

She stormed off, not bothering to grab any clothes. She was a little too comfortable for Louis' tastes, but she was just a sadistic and crazy woman anyway. He threw his clothes back on and grabbed the few belongings that he had, not bothering to say goodbye or anything to Betty as he left. He found that he was just down the street from his hotel, which was relieving. At least she lived close to the same vicinity so he didn't have to wander around, wondering where on God's earth he was.

He glanced at his phone, seeing the reminder that he had set for that morning at seven, telling him not to forget his flight. It was two hours later. There was no way that he was going home now. The thing was, he wasn't even mad that he wasn't going back to L.A. Not because of the drama with Betty, but because he wanted to stay close to Harry. Although the boy hated his guts, Louis couldn't help but still feel attached to him. The thought of being over five thousand miles away from him made his stomach churn. It would feel like Harry was nothing but a distant memory. At least when he was in London, he had a chance of running into him.

The first thing that Louis did as soon as he got back to his hotel was stop at the front desk, requesting at least another few days to be added onto his bill. The last thing he needed was for the maids to throw out all of his things because some crazy woman lured him into her trap.

His next plan of action was figuring out how he was going to confront Ellie. Two weeks ago when he had went to the agency, he had told her that there had been nothing going on and that he was sorry for all the trouble he had caused in order to keep himself in the clear. Now he was going to go back to her and tell her that he had completely lied to her? That was going to bode over well. The lawsuits that had been hanging around were probably going to come back and this time, they were probably going to take place and Louis wasn't looking forward to it.

As he went up to his room, he developed a plan of action for the coming day. He needed to call the modelling agency like he had before and set up an appointment to meet with Ellie. There was the option to plan out what the fuck he was going to say, but he thought that it would be better if he just wung it. He didn't want to think too much into it because the whole situation made him mad. If Betty wasn't around, he wouldn't have to be doing this. He could forget Harry and their short joke of a relationship. Like that would ever happen, but still. Ellie would've never found out. Part of him felt like he should go back to Harry and let him know that he had told Ellie because he was forced, but Harry already was of the thinking that he had done that. It wouldn't matter because Harry wouldn't listen to him anyway. Why would he? He was lucky if he would open the door.

_"Hello, Platinum Modelling. This is Becca,"_ the receptionist answered. At least it wasn't Betty being a speedy bitch.

"Hi, I'd like to schedule a meeting with Ellie for today. As soon as you could get me in would be perfect. It's rather urgent," Louis told her.

_"She's free for a meeting in twenty minutes or so. Would that be okay?"_ she asked.

"Erm, yeah, that would work perfectly," Louis responded, not expecting to get in so soon.

_"Great. What's your name?"_ she wondered.

"Louis Tomlinson," he responded.

_"Louis Tomlinson? What are you doing back here? I thought you were finished harassing Harry,"_ the woman wondered, a defensive tone seeping through her words.

"I am. I just have something that I need to talk to Ellie about. It's something that she might want to know. Don't worry. I don't plan on causing the agency or Harry anymore trouble," Louis assured.

_"Okay. I'll let her know that you're coming,"_ the woman said, not acknowledging what Louis had just said.

Louis hung up the phone and stared at the beige colored wall. He couldn't believe that he was doing the one thing that he shouldn't do. The one thing that he knew would crush Harry.

\----

Louis walked into Ellie's office, his palms clammy from how anxious he was. He wasn't really the type to get nervous about things. It was most likely because he was responsible for what was going to happen to Harry too, not just himself. He hoped that she would go easy on Harry and give Louis the brunt of it. Harry didn't deserve any worse pain than any that Louis had caused him.

He took a seat across from Ellie, her eyes flicking up to him with an unamused glimmer. "Didn't think that I'd be seeing you today."

"I didn't think I'd be seeing you either. I thought we were done," Louis admitted. "But there was something that I needed to tell you. You're not going to like it."

Ellie's head fell and she let out an annoyed grunt. "Jesus Christ, I don't need this stress on me. What did you do to Harry? Is this the reason that he hasn't come into work in two weeks?"

"Well, yes. I wanted to get this off my chest because I didn't think it was right to keep hiding it from you," Louis started, half telling the truth. "And because it's over now. It's only fair to let you know. Also, before I say anything, I want you to promise me that you won't be harsh on Harry. If anyone should be punished, it should be me. Not him. He didn't do anything wrong."

"Would you just bloody spit it out before I crawl across this damn desk and force you to?" Ellie snapped.

"Promise me," Louis said more stern.

"I promise I won't do anything to Harry," Ellie sighed. "Can we carry on now?"

Louis proceeded to tell every detail. He started from the beginning, from when he came up with the idea at Justin's house and the events in Ireland. He explained everything that happened with Kyle and how shitty of an agent he was. That this shitty plan that he had was going to solve all his problems and would help him to boost his reputation back up so he could get an agent that actually gave half a shit about his career and well-being. He explained how he had manipulated Harry in Spain on the roof, opening up about himself to make Harry trust him. The posts on social media, everything. Even how things ended.

"The worst part is that I did the one thing that I told myself not to do. I fell for him and now he would rather I never exist," Louis finished.

Ellie was silent. She didn't have an expression on her face, which made Louis nervous. Louis didn't know her wrath outright. Was she going to sue him? He didn't know. He didn't want to be yelled at, but granted, yelling was a rather big possibility in this case. He should've thought about it before he acted.

"So, you and Harry were sneaking behind my back since Spain?" Eliie questioned, just to clarify.

"Yes, ma'am," Louis responded, figuring that he might as well just respond like a normal human being.

"I...I'm lost for words. I can't believe I didn't catch on. I always thought Harry was a bad liar, but it turns out he's a right actor," Ellie exclaimed, not sounding as disappointed as Louis thought she would. Until she spoke next. "I can't believe Harry would do that to me, lie that is."

"He was scared of what you might say and react. He wasn't going to say anything to protect me and also because he wasn't so sure he should be doing it himself," Louis told her, reassuring her that Harry wasn't the bad guy in the situation, but rather he was.

"I would've been angry yes, but I wasn't going to sue you or anything of that sort, just because Harry would've agreed to go out with you. If he's happy, then he's happy," Ellie said. "I was only threatening to sue you if you kept harassing him."

Louis didn't know what was acceptable to respond. "I'm sorry, Ellie. You can yell, scream, do whatever you want. I guilted him into it."

Her eyes drifted back up to Louis', filling with anger rather than the emptiness and sadness she had when talking about Harry. "You  _used_ him. You  _hurt_ him."

Louis looked down. "I understand. I fucked up royally by doing that."

"Why would you do that? Especially to Harry. He's one of the sweetest human beings in the world. He wouldn't hurt a fly. What did he do wrong?" she questioned, her voice growing angrier.as she spoke. "Do you realize how much damage you've done to him? He's fragile, he's gentle. You've broken him."

Louis was silent. Tears burned the back of his eyes, knowing that he fucked up and he felt like shit for it. He hated himself for what he did, he was  _disgusted_  with himself. "He put it best - I'm a narcissistic prick."

"You're lucky I'm not physically hurting you right now. I'm infuriated knowing that someone that is near and dear to me is experiencing the level of pain and hurt that I was trying to protect him from this entire time," Ellie admitted. Her eyes narrowed. "How  _could_ you?"

"Please, Ellie, please know that I regret it so much now. I can't believe that I did something like that. Even when I was doing it, I couldn't believe that I was doing it. I didn't think about it. I just kept it going, not knowing when it was going to end. But now I know, the things that I said to him about what I felt about him, those weren't wrong. I wasn't lying. I really do feel those things for him. He was so good to me, so gentle. He was so much more pure than anyone else that I've been with. He changed me as a person, Ellie," Louis told her, crying about three words into the plea.

Ellie just looked at him with her wet eyes. "I wish I could say that I'm sorry for you, Louis, but I'm not. This was all your doing. Harry was the pawn in whatever game it was that you were playing. He's innocent in all this. But not you. This is your consequences that you're going to have to live with. If he ever speaks to you again, it's going to be by some miracle. For what damage you've done to him by playing him, I can't see him ever forgiving you."

"I understand," Louis whispered, wanting nothing more than to disappear in that moment.

"Louis, I want you to leave my office. And as soon as you do, I want you to buy a plane ticket for the next flight back to Los Angeles. It doesn't even have to be to Los Angeles. It could be anywhere, just get out of London. You need to be far away from Harry and he needs to be far away from you," Ellie instructed, her voice quiet.

Louis nodded his head once, rising up from his chair. Unlike last time, Ellie didn't get up with him and follow him to the door. He knew that he didn't only hurt Harry at that point. He had hurt Ellie too. He was sure that he'd probably hurt Liam as well. That was Harry's best friend. He knew that Kendall hated him. He could only imagine what she would do to him when she found out that Louis had spilled the tea to Ellie. But he didn't care. He didn't deserve anything good anymore. He betrayed Harry, he hurt him. He killed the beautiful flower he was, just because Louis was a shitty person. Being hated was something that he deserved.

As he left the office, he slowly walked to the lift, his head down. He didn't even realize what was in front of him until he had physically run into it. His head snapped up, his wet and sad eyes widening when he saw Harry staring back at him with puffy red eyes.

"Harry..." Louis whispered. "I'm sorry."

Harry just stared at him blankly. Frankly, Louis didn't expect any different. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry I hurt you, Harry," Louis whispered, not being able to take his eyes off of Harry's glowing green ones.

Harry pursed his lips and let out an angry sigh, his nostrils flaring. "What are you doing here?"

"You were the best thing that happened to me and I was an idiot to take advantage of you," Louis continued, not acknowledging Harry's question. He just wanted Harry to know how sorry and stupid he was. This was the only chance he had to do that.

"Dammit, Louis. Why are you here?" Harry snapped.

"To apologize to you," Louis said hushed.

Harry shook his head and took off towards Ellie's office. Before he got to the door, he turned and looked back at Louis, anger and hurt filling his face. "You can apologize all you want, Louis. It won't change the fact that I  _never_ want to see or hear from you again."

With that, Harry disappeared behind the door of Ellie's office that Louis longingly looked at. That was the last time that Harry would be stood in front of him. The last time that Louis would ever talk to him. Him and Harry would never be in the same room again. The last words from Harry that he would ever hear were how much he despised him.

A tear escaped the corner of his eye as he got onto the lift, all of the words Harry had said to him replaying like a record in his head. He would never get them out of his head. He was used to people hating him, but this was so much different. This was going to be hard to ever get over.

As he got off the lift, he saw Betty leaning against the desk, talking to the other receptionist. When she saw Louis, an evil smirk appeared on his face. She got out from behind the desk and sauntered over to Louis like she had just won something.

"I see you did as I asked," she said, looking up at him with big doe eyes, trying to make herself seductive. It wasn't working. "I didn't think you had the balls to. He'll find out for sure  _everything_ you did now. I'm the one who called him in."

Louis looked down at her with narrowed eyes. "You better not tell him a damn thing that happened last night. He's hurting enough."

"Last night? Oh, sweetie, didn't I mention that we never did anything? Yeah, I was just saying that so I could get you to do what I want and to finally leave Harry alone. I was just being a faithful employee to my company," Betty told him, a shit eating grin plastered across her face. She patted his chest and walked away. "Have a nice life."

Louis just stood there, defeated. He had betrayed Harry yet again, this time for nothing. He just deserved to die.

\----


	21. Epilogue

_**\- One Year Later -** _

Harry walked off the set, feeling odd that he wasn't still smoldering like he had been during the entirety of the shoot. Ellie was standing next to his makeup table, smiling the widest she had ever done before. Harry couldn't help but return it. It was a celebratory event after all.

"Harry, I am so proud of you!" she screeched, taking him in a big hug. "I can't believe that you've wrapped your first cover shoot! How does it feel?"

"Surreal to say the least. Can't believe that I would ever be here," Harry smiled, looking around the Vogue building. It was his best accomplishment. "Are Liam and Niall here yet?"

"Liam just messaged me a minute ago and said that the cab just dropped them off," Ellie relayed. "Why don't you get dressed and I'll go find them?"

Harry nodded as Ellie took off. He sat down at his chair, admiring his hair. He had cut it a while back so it was shorter. He felt it was necessary in order to move on after the events that had happened. It was a new leaf. He was going to start as a new person, which he did. It was starting to get longer and wasn't as short and kempt as it used to be. His curls were becoming more prominent again, which made him happy. As much as he loved his shorter hair, he missed his long hair. It was his favorite feature about himself.

He grabbed some of the makeup wipes that Amber Lynn had set out for him before she took off for the day. It was hard to believe that it had only been a year since the two of them had met. She was one of his closest friends and he was grateful to have her. She gave him advice about life and they shared in each other's successes. Harry helped her to achieve her dreams by being the best model that he could, giving her a full time job of being his hairdresser and makeup artist. It was the least he could do.

The past year had been a whirlwind. While it took a bit for Harry to move on from the incident with Louis, he finally did. There were still times that he thought about it and felt upset. Trusting people was a big issue for Harry yet, unsurprisingly. He hadn't dated since Louis because of the fear that they would just use him. He knew that he couldn't generalize that all men were like that, but it was hard to look past it and not be cautious. He didn't want to experience that pain ever again.

Once he was dressed and ready to go out to dinner with his friends, his phone began to vibrate on the counter. "Hello?"

_"Hey, so, Niall isn't feeling all that well. They're going to go to their hotel for a bit. What do you want to do?"_ Ellie asked.

Harry felt sad because he had been looking forward to their dinner all week, but he understood at the same time. "Okay. That's alright. We can schedule for tomorrow then! I'll just stop by Starbucks and go home then. You should go home too. You deserve a break. You did a lot this week."

_"Oh, Harry. You know me. I have to do my work. I appreciate it though. If you get lonely or anything though, give me a call,"_ Ellie told him.

""I certainly will," Harry responded, ending the call.

With a sigh, he grabbed his belongings and flipped the lights surrounding the mirror off. Since his night had just opened up, he figured that he would stop by Starbucks and see Zoey, catch up with her more than he did in the mornings. They were friends, but he felt like he never got to talk to her much like he used to do in the mornings. He pulled up the Uber app, ordering himself one since the photo studio was quite a ways from his apartment building. He walked down to the first floor of the building and sat down on one of the plush chairs, waiting until his Uber arrived.

He thought about how he was going home to an empty apartment yet again. That's why he had been looking forward to the dinner that night. He got to be away from his loneliness and his thoughts for a few hours instead of going through the usual routine that he normally did. But he would just have to live with it. Kendall was away in the states, shooting for Keeping Up With the Kardashians and his two other friends were staying in. The only other person that he had was Ellie, but she deserved time to herself. Whenever her and Harry were together, it usually revolved around work and Harry didn't want to stress her anymore.

His phone dinged, informing him that the Uber was outside. He got up and walked out to the vehicle, greeting the driver nicely. He told him what Starbucks he wanted and they were off. He watched as the passing lights blurred by. He loved the city of London, it was his home now. He finally felt at home in the big city. His life was starting to get put together in ways that he only had dreamed of.

The drive to Starbucks wasn't long, thankfully. The tension in the car was thick. It wasn't because the driver was rude or anything, they were both just awkward people. He bid the driver goodbye and got out onto the curb. He saw Zoey behind the counter, making a cup of coffee. While he thought she overworked herself, he was also glad that she was there. It made her happy and was something that she loved to do. Plus, Harry always had a friend when he would go in.

Her face lit up automatically when he walked through the door. He couldn't help but beam back at her. "Hey, Zoey."

"Harry! Oh my God! How'd it go?" she asked running out from behind the counter, giving him a big hug.

"It went really well. A lot of smoldering," Harry giggled. "Can I get the usual?"

"Most certainly! I'll even throw in a free cake pop," she winked, going back behind the counter.

Harry left her to her work and started off towards the bathroom, figuring that it was smart to empty his bladder since it had been eight hours between his last bathroom break. He was going to burst if he waited any longer. He got to the door and someone had come out at the same time, running into him accidentally. He lifted his head up to look at the hooded figure and immediately stopped in his tracks. It was the one person that he thought he was rid of.

"Harry?"

"Louis?" they both asked simultaneously, both of their eyes locked on each other.

"Um, I didn't expect to see you here," Louis stumbled awkwardly, not breaking eye contact with Harry.

"This is where I come all the time," Harry prompted.

"That's true. It is later at night though. Didn't pin you as the type to be a night drinker," Louis chuckled, trying to alleviate the moment.

A part of Harry was still enraged at Louis. Judging by the look on Louis' face, Harry assumed that he knew that. But the other part of him, the majority of him, was numb to the boy's presence. "What are you doing here?"

Louis looked at him, obviously being torn back to when they had last talked and Harry had asked that same question several times. "Oh, um, Justin had a show here and he invited me to join him. I really didn't expect to see you, Harry. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Harry blurted, shocking both himself and Louis at the words.

"What?" Louis asked, his voice cracking.

"Don't apologize," Harry repeated. The two stood their in an awkward silence for a few long moments. "Do you have time?"

Louis' eyes darted back and forth, unsure of what to make of Harry's request. "Yeah, I suppose I do."

"Do you, um, want to come back to mine?" Harry invited, continuing to shock himself. "Just to catch up."

Louis' eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Yes, I would love to! I mean, sure."

A small smile tugged at the corner of Harry's lips. "Great. I just need to let Zoey finish making my drink and we can go."

It was awkward to say the least. They walked at least an arm's length apart the entire way. Harry didn't know what he was doing. Why is he bringing someone that he had explicitly told he never wanted to talk to again home with him? He knew that Louis was a bit weirded out by it. Maybe the part of him that had always been curious about the truth was getting the best of him. He wanted to know. Ellie offered to tell him, but he didn't want to know at that time. He didn't want to hear it from Ellie. He wanted to hear it from Louis so details wouldn't be lost in the translation.

At that time, he was planning on never seeing Louis again.

They walked into the lobby of his apartment building, Wade sitting behind the desk since they were now short staffed. He looked up at Harry, quirking his brow when he saw Louis, but he didn't say anything. It was quickly learned between the two of them not to ask questions or raise a stink about it. It was Harry's choice who he wanted in his apartment, not Ellie's. He made that very clear to both Platinum and Wade.

When they got up to the apartment, Harry grabbed his keys out of his bag, inserting them in the key hole. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Louis stood back quite a bit, something that had never happened before. He almost looked like he felt uncomfortable, like he shouldn't be there. He pushed the door open once it was unlocked and looked back at Louis.

"You can come in," he stated flatly.

Louis met his eyes. "Are you sure you want me to? You told me that you never wanted to see or hear from me again. I don't want to intrude or go against your wishes."

"You'd be going against my wishes if you didn't come in," Harry responded, trying not to smirk. He could tell that it was much too tense to try and lighten the situation.

The two of them walked into the apartment, Harry leading Louis to the couch. He sat down, taking a sip of his Starbucks drink. Louis sat a cushion away from him, obviously not wanting to cross any lines and be too close. It made Harry kind of sad because he wanted to be close to Louis. They had always been cuddly with each other and part of Harry craved that sense of security again, especially when it was sitting right next to him. But he knew that Louis wouldn't go for it if he asked. There was an invisible barrier between them now. It was built the second Harry figured out the truth. If they were to ever be a thing again, it wouldn't be the same. Louis didn't even like him like that.

"How've you been?" Harry started.

Louis slowly nodded, avoiding eye contact. "I've been alright. Been going to some of Justin's shows on his tour. I haven't done much else though. Been working on creating my own line of merch, but I don't think that will amount to anything. I don't think people will buy it."

"That's not true. That song you came out with a couple of months ago was really good. I really liked it and I see you've built yourself a fan base with your music. Are you going to go any farther with it?" Harry asked, not wanting to see Louis down on himself. While Louis may have lied to him, Harry still felt things for him. Harry's side of the relationship was real, his feelings were real. 

Louis looked up at Harry, a shocked expression painted onto his features. "You listened to Just Like You?"

Harry nodded. "Of course I did."

"But you said that you wanted nothing to do with me," Louis blurted.

Harry shrugged. "I didn't. But I can't be a little curious as to what you've been up to?"

A blush coated Louis' cheeks as he looked away. Harry couldn't help but smile, seeing a little spark of what their relationship used to be. But that's when Louis' small smile faltered and he looked up at Harry again. "Why did you bring me here?"

Harry readjusted in his seat and looked Louis square in the eye. Might as well tell him the truth and get it over with. "Because I want to know the truth."

"About what?" Louis asked.

"I want you to explain everything," Harry clarified.

"Ellie already told you. There's nothing more, honestly," Louis relayed, his body language shifting.

"Ellie didn't tell me anything other than that you had told her," Harry explained to him. "I didn't want to hear it from her. Not only because it was so raw, but because I didn't want any of the truth to get lost in translation. I wanted to hear it from you. Granted, at that time, I was expecting that I'd never see you again and I'd have to get closure from only knowing my truth, but then tonight happened."

Louis looked at him, hurt filling his soft blue eyes. "Harry, I..."

"I know that I'm opening an old wound that you want to keep closed. I understand because the last thing I want to do is reopen it too. But I need to know, Louis. I need to know why you did it. What your motive was, why you chose me..." Harry explained and then dropped his gaze down to his fiddling fingers. "If you really did have feelings for me."

He glanced back up at Louis after a few seconds, a look of pain crossing his face. "Yes, Harry, I really did. When all was said and done, yes, I did have feelings for you. I just realized it when it was too late."

"Did you actually use me?" Harry asked, almost a whisper, the words leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

Louis' head fell down, looking at his hands. "Yes."

"Why?" Harry wondered.

Louis looked back up at Harry, hurt and sadness clearly written on his face. "I was at Justin's house when I saw a photo of you. It was right after I had gotten into a fight with my manager, Kyle, about how I couldn't get any work because of my reckless ways. So, I went to Justin's house and he has magazines out, so I flipped through it while he was in the bathroom. That's when I saw a photo of you and I got the idea to do a whole beard situation by myself, to prove Kyle wrong. Not too long after that, I called Justin in the middle of the night to go to Dublin because that's where you were. I did extensive research to find you. My goal was for you to never find out."

Harry was silent, not sure of what to say. "Why did you choose me?"

"Because you were looked at as a good person. You have a good reputation. If the paparazzi saw me in a relationship where the other person was settled down, they would think that I was changing my ways. It would've helped me get more jobs," Louis continued.

Harry looked down, not being able to keep his mind from reeling. "How long would this have gone on? Would you have gotten married to me if it went on that long?"

Louis was silent. He didn't know what to say because he  _didn't_ know. "I would like to think that I wouldn't have kept it up that long. I would've stopped it as soon as my career was starting to turn around."

"Did Justin know?" Harry asked silently. He didn't really talk to Justin anymore, so it didn't much matter, but he would've liked to know just how many people were aware of this illusion.

"Um, yeah, he did," Louis exhaled, avoiding eye contact. Harry knew that this was making him uncomfortable. He felt bad, but at the same time, it was only fair. "He didn't approve of it at all. He was mad that I was making him lie to you and he hated that he had to do it. He would've done otherwise, but he wanted me to take responsibility for my own actions instead of someone else doing it for me."

Harry nodded. "That makes sense."

"It was a complete waste of time. It was selfish and cynical. I didn't even take your feelings or anything into consideration. I only had tunnel vision," Louis rambled, his voice starting to shake. "I swore to myself that I wouldn't fall for you, but I did. That's what fucked me over. I got my feelings involved and everything conflicted."

Harry didn't know what to say. "Was it a waste of time though?"

Louis looked at Harry with wet eyes. "What do you mean?"

Harry readjusted, scooting closer to Louis. "It was a shitty thing for you to do, yeah, but if you wouldn't have done it, we would've never met. Do you regret that?"

Louis quirked his brow, confused at what Harry was trying to get at. "Of course I don't regret meeting you. I regret what I did to you though."

"I wish you wouldn't have done it to me either. It was terrible what you did. But I don't regret meeting you. The feelings and everything I did and said, that was genuine. My side was real, Louis. I really did fall for you," Harry went on.

"I'm aware," Louis responded. "What are you trying to get at?"

"I didn't think that I could ever forgive you, Louis. I was so angry at you for the past year and then I saw you tonight," Harry started, his eyes welling up with tears. "I remembered the good times that we had. When you weren't pretending. Now that I've talked to you about it, I can see the real you. I can see how much you regret it."

Louis nodded slowly. "I do. I regret everything except meeting you, getting to be around you."

"I forgive you, Louis," Harry responded, a tear dripping down his cheek.

"I appreciate that, Harry," Louis responded, giving him a half-hearted closed smile. He stood up from the couch and started making his way over to the door. "I, um, I should get going. It was nice to see you again, Harry."

Harry didn't know what took over his body, but he quickly stood up and grabbed Louis by the arm, pulling him towards him and smashing their lips together. Louis was taken aback by it, but he quickly responded to it and started moving his lips with Harry's. It didn't last more than two minutes because Louis realized what was going on and quickly pulled away.

"What are you doing?" Louis asked, his eyes moist with tears. He didn't look disgusted by the kiss though, which was a good sign.

"Do you want to give it a shot? For real this time?" Harry proposed.

Louis just smiled and gave Harry another kiss. It was at that moment Harry knew that everything that had happened over the past year and a half was meant to happen in order to find his picture perfect ending.

\----


End file.
